Roofs take the lion’s share of the beating that your home gets. It faces the sun, weather, erosion, and bird claws all year round. It protects the home from the weather, intruders, small animals, branches, and other pollution.
Sometimes, roofs take a hard enough beating to shorten their lifespan, forcing the homeowner to get repairs or even an entire roof replacement.
This article discusses the signs homeowners should look for before considering repairs or replacements. We cover the five main symptoms of a damaged roof for homeowners to look out for before hiring professional roofers.
How To Know When To Get A Roof Inspection
Visible Roof Damage
The main, most obvious indicator is visible roof damage, such as broken or missing shingles, brown spots on your ceiling, and sagging in various sections. You will see shingles missing, curling, or cracked, allowing moisture to seep from the roof into your walls. This is a tell-tale sign that the roof is rapidly, but silently, deteriorating.
Other visible roof damage includes loose flashing in chimneys, vents, and roof sections. Loose flashing causes water to enter your home -the last high a homeowner wants. This damage often spreads quietly, causing a lot of damage in the process.
Ceiling or Wall Water Stains
When water manages to get in through your roof, your ceilings and walls get stained quite evidently.
Homeowners should immediately schedule an inspection if they notice water stains on the roof or ceiling. Failure to do so severely damages the roof and overall structure, deteriorating it until it becomes too damaged to save.
Clogged Roof Gutters
Roof gutters take excess water from your roof and route it into the grass or in a drain. Over time, these gutters can get clogged by leaves, twigs, debris, and granules from shingles. These granules cover roof shingles but deteriorate over time due to the sun, weather, and wear and tear.
The roof gutters can clog up if not regularly cleaned and decluttered. There should be no solid material in the roof gutters so water easily flows through and off your roof, preventing roof damage.
Sagging Roof Deck
A sagging roof deck is an extremely dangerous sign of compromised structural integrity caused by various factors. These include excessive water damage, heavyweight, and poor roof installation practices. Once a roof sags, it becomes a threat to residents because it could cave at any moment.
When you notice a sag, even a small one, immediately contact a professional roofing contractor to come and take a look. Sags usually require extensive repairs or, in the worst-case scenario, entire roof replacements.
Post-Storm Inspection
Rain, snow, hail, and strong winds cause immense roof damage and over time, completely deteriorate the structure. The erosion and shingle damage means water and debris infiltrate the home structure, causing all the damage we mentioned above.
A roof inspection after a severe weather event is mandatory to evaluate the damage. Leaks and structural damage often begin or are accelerated after severe weather events. Get in touch with local roofers to ensure a roof inspection.
Don’t Neglect Roof Inspections
Our homes’ roof does a lot to protect our homes from the outside world. Despite this, roofs aren’t invincible and are prone to damage that requires professional roof inspection. To find roof damage, there are five tell-tale signs.
The most obvious is visible roof damage for anyone to notice and report. This includes damaged shingles, cracks, or curling. Inside, you will see water stains on the walls and ceilings that indicate water entering the structure. Outside, you’ll notice clogged roof gutters and sagging roof decks that are clear roof damage signs. Have your roof inspected after severe weather events, the main reason behind most roof damage cases.