Why DIY Roofing Projects Can Be Disasters

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Saturday, October 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Unless there is a problem with it, you probably do not give much thought to your roof. Well, that will certainly change if you run into a situation where a repair is needed and the cost is high.

A roof is an incredibly hardy piece of construction. Think about it for a minute. It bakes in the sun all day, gets dumped on with rain, whipped by wind and occasionally pounded by debris. Through all this, it manages to stay together and keep the elements out.

Look at a roof and you might think it is just a bunch of shingles. Nope. There is much more to it. Shingles are just the exterior layer. While every roof has its own unique design, every roof has some common materials and design elements.

Think of a hull on a ship. Your roofing performs the same function. It creates a uniform barrier that produces a water tight barrier. It is usually made up of an outer area of shingle with wood and waterproofing material underneath.

Perhaps the most critical component of our upside down boat are edges and penetration points. To seal these areas, roofers use metal flashing and waterproof sealants. These essentially act like caps on a bottle of soda.

So, what can you take from this? The first rule of roof work is it is not a do it yourself area. How many of us spend part of our weekends at Home Depot? Plenty. With roofing, however, you want to leave the work to pros. If you get it wrong, it can be a disaster.

Fixing a roof problem should be simple, right? Actually, it is not. Water migrates around the system, so finding and repairing it can be a task. If you do it yourself, you can end up ripping up much of your roof.

Roof repairs can be pricey, so making sure you do some basic maintenance is vital. An hour spent now can save you a ton of money down the road. Most small fixes can be done cheaply and are fairly basic.

The initial maintenance step is easy. Walk a lap around your home looking at the roofing. If you see anything on it or tree limbs rubbing against it, get rid of them. Also, have anything that looks askew fixed. Broken shingles are the most common problem.

Our second maintenance step is to clean the roof. This needs to be done each and every year. The best time is in spring, but any time will do. The goal is to get any growths, dirt and what have you off.

I hate cleaning gutters. You probably hate cleaning gutters. Nonetheless, gutters need to be cleaned before big storms. Stuffed up gutters result in water pooling back under the edge of roofs. This can cause severe damage to roofs and walls.

That is it. Three simple steps that can be the difference between a roof that lasts 40 years and one that has a wide variety of problems that pop up each time a storm hits. Dealing with leaks during storms is a drag, so do the maintenance.

About the Author: 866FixMyRoof.com is your source for roof repairs and Cypress roof construction services.

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