Ever heard of the phrase, “just be thankful you have a roof over your head”? Well, it’s true! Your roof is the most important barrier between your biggest asset and elements you wouldn’t want to enter your home. These include rain, hail, snow, debris, and even excessive sunlight.
Homeowners typically give priority to their roofs only when an issue arises. What they don’t know is that this can actually be avoided by consistently maintaining your roof’s health.
While this is pretty much common sense, a lot of people often overlook proper roof maintenance in keeping their homes in top shape. Most of them focus on paint jobs, fireproof coating, or even wallpapering and assume it would be enough to maintain their homes. Here are 4 reasons why you should take care of your roof so that you never make the same mistake.
1. It is your first line of defense
Simply put, your roof is your first line of defence in keeping the inside of your home clean and safe. If not properly maintained, your home could develop mould and mildew, as well as leaks that could cause large-scale water problems across water systems in your home. Costs of repairing or replacing your roof are expensive, add to that the interior repairs needed to be made after.
2. It maintains good curb appeal
When viewing homes up for sale, homebuyers typically look at houses from top to bottom, from all sides, inside and out. This includes your roof. Your roof is actually an essential curb appeal item that increases your home’s value. In fact, real estate personnel can vouch that an attractive exterior can make or break a home sale, with a guarantee of at least 50% return of investment with just the instalment of a new roof alone. Impressive, right?
This is the reason why many homeowners spend thousands of NZ dollars just to get their roofs in top shape again. Homebuyers appreciate houses with good roofing, as this greatly reduces costs they might spend on making renovations around their new homes. In this light, it would be better to maintain your roof’s health every once in a while per year, instead of paying big bucks to replace or restore it.
3. It’s energy-efficient
If you don’t want to sell your home, it’s fine. But you still need to make sure your roof is in good condition whether or not you put it on the market.
A good roof guarantees energy efficiency. If you are able to properly maintain your roof and regularly check it for damages, chances are, you have a structurally sound roof. This means that you have proper ventilation, insulation, and airtightness. You can keep your air conditioner at higher temperatures and keep your heating system low since air leaks are not a problem for your home. With properly maintained roofs, you’re left with lower heating and cooling bills, as well as a highly comfortable home all year round.
4. It saves you time and money
Perhaps one of the most important reasons why roofs should be properly maintained is how homeowners can save time and money. Depending on the type of roof tiles or roof shingles used, you may be looking at a whopping cost of $50 to $300 per square metre. There may also be additional fees for labour. In replacing or repairing roofs, it can take the workers a whole day to finish, and for extreme cases, it can take 3 or 5 days. Whereas small repairs every time damages are noticed will significantly reduce the time and money you’ll spend when necessary.
If your roof also suddenly caved in and is damaged beyond immediate repair, chances are, you’ll contact the nearest roofing service near you. The emergency service call you make is actually more expensive than replacing the roof itself. Extra charges could be specific days off (holidays, weekends, overtime) and emergency use of available material. Not to mention, the only available roofing company near you might be on the expensive end of the spectrum, or maybe even a company you’ve never heard of.
Bearing all of these in mind, what should you do to minimise the damages of a poorly maintained roof?
How to properly maintain your roof
The answer is pretty simple – roof maintenance! By properly maintaining your roof, you’re not just saving yourself thousands of dollars, but you’re also saving yourself time. Hitting the nail early on is so much better than watching your roof deteriorate right in front of your eyes. Here are a few tips to help you get started on how to properly maintain your roof.
Inspect your roof regularly
It is advised to make sure to routinely inspect your roof at least twice a year – once at the beginning of the year and the other at the second half. However, in the event of major weather events such as hail, rain or snow, always make sure to look for any damage on your roof. Also, inspect for any leaks that might have developed. When earthquakes and other natural disasters occur, inspect your roof (and the whole house) as well.
If you find yourself lacking time for a routine roof inspection, consider having a professional do it for you. Bowdens can help you with your needs and deliver the best result. Give us a call to get started.
Remove any debris found on your roof
Make sure that your roof is free from any debris, whether it be moss and mould, and even blockages in your gutters. Doing so ensures that water can freely flow down your gutters and away from your home. On the other hand, removing accumulated moss and mould can help prolong your roof’s health since these can severely damage your roof. In addition, you will notice which parts of your roof may have a leak, since moss and moulds thrive in areas of moisture.
Consider using a roof coating
Lastly, you might want to consider using a roof coating. First and foremost, roof coatings are very eco-friendly as these prevent the accumulation of roofings in landfills that need tear-offs. Second, roof coatings actually provide you with an extra layer of protection against severe weather such as hailstorms. Imagine your skin, but with sunblock and long-sleeved apparel. You get the drift. Lastly, roof coatings are energy and money savers. For replacing roof coatings, you only spend less than half of the amount you would need to spend on replacing your entire roofing system. Most of these coatings are reflective, meaning your roof heats up when the sun’s UV rays hit it, instead of absorbing the heat and distributing it in your home. Talk about lower cooling bills!
At Bowdens, we can help you with your roof coating to significantly increase your home’s lifespan using the best-in-market products with the latest in technologies and equipment. Roof coating isn’t just about the aesthetics for us. We can help you address any superficial rust issues, replace missing roof fixings, replace mortar on concrete tile roofs, fix small holes and use a heavy duty epoxy primer when necessary. If your roof ends up being beyond repair, we’ll be upfront about it and talk with you before proceeding with our work.
In Conclusion
Proper roof maintenance will not only keep you comfortable and safe in your own home, but it can also help raise its market value and curb appeal among potential homebuyers. Save your future self from stress, bills, and wasted time by preparing early on. Check your roofs every once in a while. Trust us, you’ll thank us later.
Need more help with your roof coating or other painting needs? Just give us a call and we’ll talk it out.