Roofs shield us against the Nevada sun, wind, rain, and hail. While they’re built to be tough, our roofs will suffer dents, scrapes, and cracks — all of which can lead to water leaks. However, water dripping from the ceiling is only the least of your worries.
The moisture fosters the growth of mold and mildew, both of which can trigger allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and many other ailments. What’s more, the water promotes wood rot. If the roof’s wooden substructures degrade, they may become unable to fully support the roof and ultimately cave in on itself. All this can result in serious injuries and expensive roof replacements.
To prevent water damage from happening, you need to waterproof your roof. Here are our tips to do this effectively:
Clean your roof properly and regularly
Leaves and branches that accumulate on your roof tend to retain moisture and promote algae and moss growth. While these may appear harmless, they can actually damage the waterproofing of your roof. Therefore, properly and regularly removing detritus and unwanted growths is key to helping your roof do its job effectively.
Repair your roof as soon as you spot damage
One bad shingle or roof tile is all it takes for water to seep into your roof, so it pays to fix curled and buckled shingles, as well as replace cracked and missing shingles and tiles. You’ll also want to check if your flashings are watertight or not. The earlier you make your repairs, the better shape your roof will be in in the long run.
Some roof repairs are straightforward enough so you can do them yourself. But if the damage involves large areas of your roof, then you’re much better off getting professional roof repair services.
One bad shingle or roof tile is all it takes to let water seep into your roof, so it pays to spend on roof repairs ASAP.
Implement preventive measures
To reduce the volume of leaves and twigs that accumulate on your roof, cut back branches so that these are at least six feet away from your house. Doing this will prevent swaying branches from whacking your roof and dislodging shingles and tiles off of it. Additionally, this will allow your roof to receive more sunlight than what algae and moss could tolerate.
To further ward off algae and moss, screw in strips of copper- or zinc-coated sheet metal along the top of your roof. Copper and zinc are toxic to these organisms, so having these metals around will prevent algae and moss from growing new colonies.
Apply roof coatings
Once you’ve cleaned up your roof and made the necessary repairs, you’ll want to coat your roof with water-repellent coatings. The type of coating will depend on the type of your roof — just ask your friendly neighborhood roofing professionals about it. Resin-based coatings are the most popular because they retain some of their elasticity when dry. This is unlike paint, which hardens and forms a shell that can be chipped away to let water in.
Insulate your attic and control the temperature of your roof
Insulating your attic means using special materials that reflect and keep heat away from the roofing, and preventing it from warping. Use heat tape along the eaves and by the gutters of your roof. Carefully set the temperature so that it doesn’t cause any warping, but make sure it’s warm enough to make snow on the roof melt and drain away via the gutter.
The weight of the excessive snow on a roof may make the roof collapse, so making the snow melt prevents that from happening.
Let us waterproof your roof for you
You can clean, repair, coat, and insulate your roof yourself, but these are all daunting tasks because of all the dangers involved. You’re much better off letting our professionals at D&D Roofing handle these things for you. We have the right equipment and more than sufficient knowledge to waterproof your roof at competitive rates. Send us a message to find out more about our amazing services.