Your roofing system is one of the most essential features of your house. It is the barrier that stands between your home interior and the outside, which allows it to serve as the first line of defense against harmful external weather factors. In Florida, residents can expect extreme weather circumstances like heat, heavy rainfall, lightning, and even strong gusts of wind to affect their homes pretty much all year-round.
Although on average, expertly installed roofs can last anywhere from up to 25 and 50 years, there are several factors as to why a roof’s lifespan might not be as long as it was intended to be. Homeowners who neglect routine roof maintenance and repairs are at risk of their roof wearing down well before time. However, in the instance you live in a region like Florida that’s prone to frequent disastrous weather events, trying to keep your roof in good shape can be even more demoralizing. This is why we’ve prepared a list of benefits of a well-kept roof for you as an incentive to invest in regular roof maintenance, because it guarantees a return on your investment in the long-run.
Energy-efficiency: “Cool roofs” made from PVC and TPO help reflect incoming solar energy, preventing your roof from absorbing heat in excess. As a result, your indoor temperature remains at a comfortable level. Such a self-regulating temperature mechanism takes some load off of your HVAC system, preventing it from working overtime, and thus, cutting down on your energy costs.
Home Value: A roof that’s in top shape and looks that way in appearance tooincreases the resale value of your house should you ever decide to put it on the market. Prospective home buyers look for comfort and beauty in any property, and yours is going to stand out as a strong contender if its roof is high-performing.
Prevents Miscellaneous Costs: External weather conditions that are allowed to interfere with the quality of your indoor environment cause various costs of daily living to surge. Your valuables, furniture, appliances, and even the structural integrity of your building—all are impacted when your roof is incapable of blocking out the unneeded weather elements. You’re going to be spending a hefty amount on trying to fix and clean this thing and that for years to come with a poorly maintained roof.
Since a high-performing roof cuts down on routine expenditure in multiple ways, homeowners are in a better position to spend more on roof care instead. However, being able to tell when your roof needs maintenance can be a challenge in itself. Roof damage manifests in a variety of ways, but unless it was caused by a severe weather catastrophe, it’s not always so noticeable.
Look ahead to learn of some of the common types of roof damage homeowners experience in Florida and signs that help you identify the nature of these damages.
Water Damage
Probably the most common type of roofing issue homeowners encounter in Florida, water damage occurs as a consequence of rainfall and snow. Moisture that seeps into your roofing system harms its structural integrity, as well as that of your entire building. When imagining water damage, you might think of a leaky roof. However, by the time your roof has leaks in it, it’s an indication that the water damage has advanced to a very complex stage.
Some of the earlier signs of water damage include stained areas visible on your ceiling or granules in the gutters. It is crucial to take care of water damage as early as possible because moisture almost always gives way to mold, which is known to cause respiratory issues in human beings.
Wind Damage
Gusts of strong wind can bring with them flying debris of broken tree branches, garbage and various other objects. When this debris hits your roof at high-speed, the impact can cause shingles to break. In severe circumstances, areas of your roof might even become perforated altogether.
What’s more, even without the presence of any flying objects, wind on its own is capable of harming your roof. This is because wind creates an uplifting effect that can cause roof shingles to tear off at places, often creating a chain reaction. Shingles that are even a little loose allow wind to accumulate below them, giving them more to grab onto which results in the peeling off of many shingles one after the other.
The NRCA states that the edges of your roof are the areas most vulnerable to wind damage. Look out for missing or curling shingles in such places in particular, because these are signs that point towards wind damage.
Heat Damage
Heat is one more factor that impacts your roofing system, especially if your shingles are dark. High temperatures can cause the shingles to heat up 50 to 60 degrees above the atmospheric temperature. This means that if on any given day the temperature is 100 degrees, then your shingles can reach a temperature of up to 160 degrees.
Shingles damaged by heat quickly age beyond their years and expand to a larger size. If you notice cracks, blisters or exposed nails on your roofing system, the signs could be an indication of it having suffered from prolonged exposure to heat.
Certified Pro Roofing has a wide selection of roofing services to choose from in Pensacola, Florida. Book a roof inspection with us now and learn if your roof has sustained weather damage, and we’ll direct you to whether it could do with roof repairs or a complete replacement. Contact us now and let our competent team of professional roofers do away with your roof problems!
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