When asking Micah Smith, RRO and NCC's senior technical representative, "What is the single most important thing a person should do for their roof coming out of the wet season?" he responded with "Inspection - inspect your roof and solve the issues you discover immediately." Smith has been a technical representative/roof consultant for the roofing industry for over 15 years and has seen how avoiding roof inspections and immediately dealing with issues can be detrimental to roof life.
Roof Restoration System can Save you a Great Deal of Money
An excellent reason for wanting to restore your existing roof is to save you money. Roof restoration systems may offer tax credits and energy rebates depending on where you live. A great resource to determine if this is an option for you is the Cool Roof Rating Council website. They have a list of incentives available in each state. Roof restoration versus a roof tear-off can save you significant time and money along with avoiding the disruption associated with a roof tear off and the impact it has on our already stressed land fills.
How do you Keep your Roof in Good, Working Condition You Ask?
INSPECTION/MAINTAIN/REPAIR. Inspect your roof at least twice a year. Most warranties are written to require roof inspections before and after the wet, winter months. This is in place to insure problem items that are found during the inspection get resolved before they become bigger, more costly problems. Often time’s people assume if there isn’t a leak, there isn’t a problem. While this can be true, you can also prevent costly problems before they occur by being proactive.
Roof Inspection Check List
What should you be inspecting once you get on the roof? National Coatings recommends you inspect the roof for the following conditions and correct them as soon as possible in order to avoid additional issues:
- Remove all debris from the roof. Pipes, skylights, pitch pans, HVAC units and other equipment are perfect gathering locations for debris. It is important to remove all the debris because it traps and holds water, which will promote roof deterioration at a faster rate.
- Check all your drains. Make sure they are open and functioning properly. It is a good idea to pour water down them and test them because a clogged drain could cause a leak.
- Test all gutters. Clear them of debris.
- Check your roof for blisters and delamination. If you see these, we suggest you call National Coatings for a professional roof inspection 800-423-9557 or fill out our FREE roof evaluation form online.
- Check the entire roof membrane for deterioration, holes, mechanical abuse areas, defects, separation at any seams and edges - if you see any of these failures, consider an ARM System now, so you don't have to replace and tear-off your roof later - this could save you thousands of dollars.
- Carefully inspect junctures at wall and equipment base flashings and pipe penetrations.
- Make sure all sealants and caulkings are in good shape.
- Trim back any trees that hang over and are near your roof to avoid future unnecessary debris.
