Among the best ways to protect the roof on your Greensboro, NC home is staying abreast of its current condition. Neglecting regular roof inspections gives problems like torn flashing and missing shingles the chance to spiral out of the control. By regularly assessing roofs, our roofers can prevent water damage at the building interior, rotted framing materials, and premature roofing failure. To take maximum advantage of these services, read on to find out how often you should schedule them.
What Is a Roof Inspection and What Does It Cover?
There’s no danger of inspecting your roof too much, and there are a number of quick and easy ways to assess your roof on your own. For instance, you can stand at the curb and check your roof for dark, discolored areas throughout the year. Having large patches of shingles that look significantly darker than others may mean that these components are nearing the end of their lifespan. As shingles age, they often lose their protective granules. Not only is shingle granule loss a major aesthetic issue, but it also diminishes the integrity of roofs overall. After all, these features shield roofs from UV damage and help direct water away from lightly sloped surfaces.
Areas of discoloration can also indicate problems with moss or mold. While black mold can be scrubbed or washed off of most roof features, it’s a sign of moisture problems and other roofing problems. Identifying issues like these and reporting them to your roofer could give you the chance to resolve them before they become more serious or widespread.
Although you can certainly get your ladder out, homeowners are advised against mounting their roofs. Doing so could loosen or damage roof shingles, or knock them off entirely. While walking on your roof will help you determine whether the underlying substrate or framing is soft, rotted, and spongy, this is a method that often causes far more harm than good. When you have questions about your roof that can’t be answered by a curbside assessment, it’s best to let a licensed roofer take over instead.
Professional roof inspections are far different. They’re much more comprehensive and they’re performed with special techniques and tools for ensuring that no damage is caused. During these services, roofers check:
- All roofing materials, including shingles, fasteners, and flashing
- Rooftop drainage systems
- Roof planes, soffit, fascia, valleys, and other structures
- The interior of the building for evidence of water damage
These evaluations help roofers accurately estimate the remaining lifespans of roofs, identify installation-related errors, and spot potential problems with pest infestations among other things.
Warranties, Home Service Agreements, and Home Insurance Plans
Home insurance companies understand that roofs are the first line of defense against the natural elements. Thus, if you own an older home, you may be required to schedule a roof inspection when binding an insurance policy, even if this policy doesn’t protect against roof leaks or other roof damage. This is all the more true if you attach a few riders to your plan to ensure that your roof is actually protected. With this more comprehensive coverage, you may be required to schedule an initial inspection before your policy becomes active, and annual inspections to limit the likelihood of future claims.
Home service agreements or home warranties that cover roofs can also require both initial and ongoing inspections. This is additionally true for manufacturer warranties, whether they come from your roofing manufacturer, siding manufacturer, or the manufacturers of other connected elements like skylights, vents, and windows.
You should check each of your policies or contracts early on to find out what their individual inspection and maintenance requirements are. Staying up to date with roofing inspections ensures that the protections supplied by these agreements aren’t lost due to oversight or neglect.
Establishing the Right Roof Inspection Schedule for Your Home
There are many different opinions on how often roofs should be inspected. For instance, if you recently purchased new construction, you may have been told to wait between five and 10 years before scheduling a professional roof inspection. Some companies recommend scheduling these services every three to five years, and others advise scheduling them annually.
Waiting one full decade before having your roof professionally evaluated is problematic for many reasons. Although it’s easy to assume that a new roof is unlikely to leak or suffer other major problems, this isn’t always the case. Severe weather events and a vast range of common mistakes can leave new roofs extremely vulnerable to moisture, wind, hail, and UV damage.
Scheduling roof inspection services every three to five years is also high in risk. A lot can happen in five years, especially if squirrels, birds, rodents, or insects have found one or more points of ingress. With constant exposure to fluctuating temperatures and the resulting expansion and contraction, even high-quality roofing materials can sustain a fair amount of damage within a very short period of time. This is why scheduling annual roof inspections is definitely the best choice. Having your roof inspected just before the cold season will ensure that this structure is completely intact and prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
Storm Damage Inspections and Repairs
It’s also important to have roofs professionally inspected after major storms. These weather events can leave rooftops littered with silt, leaves, twigs, and even larger tree branches. Roofers will determine how much damage has been sustained by jarring, impact events. They’ll also look for loose fasteners, missing or curled shingles, and other damaged materials. Even if the weather is still inclement and hardly right for roof repairs, roofers can tarp off damaged areas so that moisture doesn’t make its way into the interior of the home.
The Benefits of Having Regular Roof Inspections Performed
Beyond keeping you compliant with the terms of your insurance policies, home service agreements, and manufacturer warranties, roof inspections allow roofers to extend the lifespan of roofs by limiting the amount of ongoing wear they sustain. Early identification of problems and timely repairs ensures that progressive damage never has the chance to make it all the way through these multi-layer systems.
Following each inspection, roofers provide a detailed, written report. This report can be shared with other contractors, insurance companies, warranty issuers and more to expedite claims, inform other projects, and provide proof that you’ve fulfilled your duty of care.
Never Get Caught Off Guard by the Need for Roof Replacement
Another major benefit of scheduling regular roof inspections is remaining abreast of the eventual need for roof replacement. Homeowners who have their roofing assessed annually are never caught off guard by roof failure. They have ample time to budget and plan for major roofing projects. This in turn gives them a better opportunity to save cash and still get the look, lifespan, and level of functionality they want.
We protect homes in Greensboro, NC from their basement pipes to their rooftops. We offer expert heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical services. We also offer roof replacement, repairs, and inspections. To schedule an appointment, contact Aurora Pro Services Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electrical, & Roofing.
