Don’t let nature make a big mess of your roof.
Storms are one of the biggest threats to the integrity of your roof. To avoid the need for roof repairs or replacement, consider these tips to protect your home during all kinds of severe weather.
Roof Inspection
Before storm season rolls around, get a professional to inspect your roof. Specialists can identify areas of weakness and suggest what, if any, repairs should be done to reinforce the roof against damage. Doing preventative maintenance in advance of inclement weather helps to protect your home and reduces the likelihood that you’ll need more costly repairs later on.
Use Strong Materials
If repairs do need to be made, choose a strong material that can stand up to the stress of high winds, collisions with debris, and heavy precipitation such as hail. Homes with roofs that are old or have sustained damage in the past may benefit from a roof replacement. In either case, investing in high-quality roofing ensures that you’ll have a sturdy roof for a long time to come.
Keep the Gutters Clean
Maintain your gutters so you won’t need roof repairsA gutter full of debris will inevitably back up and overflow, either causing damage to the space beneath your roof or creating an ice jam that strains the whole system. Overloaded gutters can pull away from the house, damaging the edges of the roof as they go.
Trim the Trees
Break out the clippers, not the Christmas lights, and take care of any tree branches that are hanging over your roof. They may look picturesque now, but high winds can bring them down, resulting in serious damage to your home. Branches that touch the roof can ruin shingles by stripping their surfaces or pulling them off entirely. Dead branches should be removed whether or not they’re near the house.
Get Rid of Snow
Although the Portland, OR, area isn’t known for getting loads of snow, a white Christmas can still be a problem for your roof. Accumulating snowfall exerts an amazing amount of force that can cause damage or total collapse. If snow fails to slide off your roof, invest in a roof rake and get it down yourself. Never climb up on the roof and use a shovel; the added weight could be all it takes to go from danger to disaster.
Sometimes even the best efforts to prevent roof damage can’t stand up against a storm. Call Interstate Roofing at 503-684-5611 when you need fast service to fix whatever nature has thrown at your home. We’ll send out a crew to assess the damage and return your roof to its original state as quickly as possible.