Your roof must be inspected periodically to ensure minor problems are
corrected before real damage sets in. If the pitch of your roof is
low, and you are comfortable (and confident) walking around on it, you
can perform your own inspection and make small repairs yourself.
Otherwise, hire someone to do this for you. Be careful - a fall, even
from a single story house, can be fatal.
Here are some reasons why
roofs fail:
Inadequate Maintenance - Ignoring small problems is the single
greatest reason for premature failure of roofing systems. Catching
small damage early and making repairs is vital to longevity. Waiting
until water is dripping inside the house is a great way to
unnecessarily spend a lot of money. By the time you notice a leak, the
damage has most likely spread well beyond the original problem area.
Weathering - All roofing materials deteriorate from exposure to
weather. As stated earlier, the elements take a toll on your roof.
Wind is the greatest enemy. Roofs are not generally designed to
withstand hurricanes and tornados. But roofs may also be damaged by
winds that gust up to 75 miles per hour. The air current can lift
shingles up and break off the outer tab. This exposes the the top of
the underlying shingle, and makes the roof thinner at that point.
Flashing Problems - Flashing provides a watertight junction between
roofing materials and other parts of the structure, or between roof
sections. They are the most vulnerable part of any roof. Proper
maintenance is critical. A lot of early roof problems are really due
to a failure of the flashing system. Many flashing problems can
be eliminated by examination and good quality repair procedures.
Improper Slope - This one amazes me. A new home is built in an area
that experiences heavy snowfall, and a low-pitch roof is installed.
The snow piles up, partially melts, and then freezes again at night.
Now there’s a layer of heavy ice on the roof. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The load becomes too heavy and the roof support structure sags or
collapses entirely. While some of the responsibility for this mess can
be traced to the homeowner for insisting on a certain design, the
builder is supposed to know better.
Excess Weight from Additional Items - People sometimes add things
to an existing roof that is was not designed to handle. Antennas,
signs, flag poles, holiday decorations, etc. These can damage the roof
structure if too heavy or improperly installed. Screwing support hooks
through the roof material can cause leaks. Connecting an antenna to a
brick chimney can cause stress fractures in the mortar and flashing
due to wind.
In summary, your roof needs maintenance, just like other systems in
your home. Fix problems as soon as they occur instead of waiting.
Don’t load a bunch of stuff on your roof that is was not designed to
handle. Keep gutters and other drain systems clean and open. And be
careful up there!