Leak from the roof is critical to the structure

Water damage

To start with, water damage should never be neglected as it could ruin the structure of your whole property starting either from above or below; thus be on the lookout for any roof leaks as they are harder to spot than, say, the flooding of your basement, which is quite obvious when it becomes an out-of-the-blue swimming pool overnight, that is.

Causes of roof leaks

Your safety is important as well as your whole family’s health thus never leave it to chance to preserve them. Since there are so many various household problems don’t let yet another pile on the list; be on the watch-out as a roof leak should be among those issues with the highest priority to deal with immediately.

What’s more, roof leaks could be caused due to variety of reasons, some of them being improper roof installation, storm or severe wind damage, or just continuous lack of any maintenance whatsoever. Besides, especially nowadays, most roofs are just meant to last ranging from 20 to 30 years so it could simply be time to change the whole of your roof.

However, let’s try to simply enlist the most common of the reasons so that you know where to start from:

• age – as mentioned early roof materials deteriorate with time and become less effective at keeping water out;
• slope – in case the roof slope is way too shallow, the strong wind ca lift shingles and push rain underneath;
• roof vents – all roofs need to be sealed properly otherwise leaks cannot be prevented;
• gutter backup – roof gutters could become clogged with, say, leaves or simply dirt causing water to slow down when flowing off the roof, which, in turn, leads to water soaking inside.

Signs for leaks from the roof

We should all be well aware that moisture intrusion could be critical for our property causing internal damage, rotting away, and slowly eating away the whole of the integrity of the house and even damaging the beauty of the property.

So we should all look out for any signs of roof leaks; they are as follow:

• stains and discolouration – this is among the most obvious and easy-to-spot signs for moisture from roof leaks; besides they could show that the interior structure of the walls could be suffering from rot and mold;
• blistering and peeling paint – there are times when stains just don’t appear still the moisture from the roof leaks causes damage to the paint of your home; of course, not all peeling or blistering paint is a sign of water leaks, still in case you see such sign you should keep in mind, especially if the sign occurs on a wall or ceiling below the roof deck;
• interior mold and mildew – over time, if there is a roof leak, among the most serious and critical consequences is mold and mildew formation; it’s truly bad because mold can spread just about anywhere throughout the structure of the home then to the HVAC systems and after that to the rest of the place through the vents invading furniture, carpets, even clothing, to name but a few;
• musty smells – if you have started noticing some new musty smell in your home then this could be mold growth due to moisture intrusion from roof leaks;
• slip and fall hazard – some severely leaking roof could cause the inhabitants of the property to slip and fall hurting or injuring themselves as a result of water puddles on the floor;
• compromised structural integrity – the hardest sign to spot is still the most obvious consequence of some leaking roof and that is the damage to rafters, ceiling joists, wall framing and even fascia boards, exterior trim, to name but a few; besides chronic roof leak leads to wood decay and weakening, rottening away of roof framing – all problems that require urgent measures taken by professionals in the field.

How to handle the problem

So first and foremost the easiest way to stop roof leak is to ensure that the deck below the roof is properly constructed and sealed, especially in preparation for the autumn and winter months of the year when there is usually heavy rain, snowfall and storms. The best thing to do is call in a professional company in the field that can inspect your property and come out with some statement whether your roof is properly sealed thus ensuring the structural and waterproof integrity of your home for years on end.

Additionally, roof restoration is a rather hard and thorough process but if handle by a professional team it will leave your roof looking shiny and new, with new primers, sealers and a gentle pressure wash giving it some totally new life.

Besides if there is some problem with the ridge, ridge capping is a truly effective process for sealing the ridges and protecting them from pests and elements; the process also strengthens the roof joints and makes your roof stronger without any leaks.

Last but not least, roof maintenance is the right way to ensure that the roof of your home will stay in the best of shape from season to season and if you hire a professional to do the maintenance, they will also inspect for any problems so in that case you could be most sure that there will be no hidden roof leaks.

Finally, roof pressure cleaning could be the best way to ensure that you will have sparkling clean roof also protected against poor weather conditions like hail, storm, even the sun. Because all these environmental factors can lead to issues like chipped or cracked paint and minor as they might seem, in case your property has them then its sale value could be greatly decreased, besides leaving the roof susceptible to damage.