Fall is the perfect season to perform maintenance on your home’s roof. As the leaves fall from the trees, you’ll need to keep up with cleaning and repairs to make sure your roof is ready for winter and the cold, wet weather that accompanies it. Here are a few maintenance tips to perform on your roof this fall.
Organic Matter
While most people are quick to rake their lawns and clean up around the yard, many people forget about the roof. It’s not the easiest job to get a ladder and climb up, but it is essential that organic matter like leaves and branches are cleaned up quickly. If not, they can trap moisture underneath and prevent drainage of water to the gutters. This can quickly lead to a leaky roof that’ll be tough to repair come winter. Additionally, the weight of wet leaves can put undue pressure on shingles and roof supports.
Inspection
If there aren’t any trees around to litter on your roof, you’ll still want to complete a full roof inspection. You should look for any shingles that are loose or broken, as well as any holes in the surface underneath. Even if you don’t see any immediate damage, you’ll want to apply gentle pressure around the roof to test for weak spots that may need to be reinforced ahead of the upcoming New England winter. If you aren’t confident that you’ll know what you’re looking for, it’s a good idea to hire a professional roofer to perform an inspection for you.
Get Winter Ready
Once your roof is cleaned of any natural debris and inspected for damage, you’ll want to make sure that your roof is going to be strong enough to support the snow and ice of winter. Something you can do yourself is to clean out your gutters of debris. This will prevent ice dams and encourage draining of snowmelt, which means your roof doesn’t have to hold as much weight. Furthermore, during the winter your roof may experience “scrubbing,” when ice on the roof melts and shifts to refreeze in another section of the roof. This can cause stress on the shingles which won’t hold up if they’re older. Old shingles should be replaced with new, strong ones.
Roof Maintenance, Inspection & Repairs in Uxbridge & Worcester, MA
Making repairs to a roof yourself can be quite the undertaking, so you might want to consider getting some help. Professional roofers with Nor’easter Roofing can help you make sure your roof is ready for the freezing temperatures and snow of the impending New England winter by performing inspections, completing repairs, and making any necessary replacements. Nor’easter Roofing can be reached by calling 508-667-3278 or by filling out our online contact form.