roofingadmin

We all love the sun. But the heat can also be destructive. Your roofing materials are your home’s first line of defense against the sun and heat of summer. Consequently, they are susceptible to damage from high temperatures and UV rays. Without proper care and maintenance, the sun and heat can significantly dimmish the lifespan of your roof.

Ways that the sun and heat can damage your roof include:

• Cracking, curling, and warping of shingles or tiles
• Decay and degradation of roofing materials
• Damage to roof coatings
• Bleaching and other aesthetic damage

Your roof can also be damaged by the fluctuating temperatures in the early days of summer and later, as summer transitions into fall. In response to the high heat during the day, your roof expands. When the sun goes down and temperatures drop dramatically your roof contracts. These fast temperature changes can weaken the integrity of your roofing materials and cause cracks and warping of your shingles.

Ways to Protect Your Roof This Summer

As summer approaches, Arizona is starting to heat up. While we are looking forward to all the fun that the summer brings, we also know that the summer sun and heat can wreak havoc on your roof. As a homeowner, there are things you can do to protect your roof from the ravages of summer. And late spring is the perfect time to get your roof ready for the summer.

Keep reading for some tips on preparing your roof for the high heat of summer.

Improve Your Ventilation

One of the best ways to help protect your roof from the summer heat is to ensure that your attic or crawlspace is adequately ventilated. As the sun shines on your roof, heat can get trapped in the attic, superheating the roofing materials. Ventilation is crucial to keeping this heat from building up and damaging your roof.

If your current roofing is not adequately ventilated, you may want to install a solar attic fan to help supplement your existing ventilation. Solar attic fans utilize free solar energy and work with existing vents to pull in fresh air from the outside and force it through your attic. Solar attic fans have the potential to reduce the temperature in your attic space by up to 40%.

Apply a Roof Coating & Achieve a Cool Roof

After high heat, UV rays are incredibly damaging to roofs. UV radiation can break down your roofing materials, leading to issues like cracking and splintering of your shingles. While your roof does a good job withstanding the harmful effects of the sun, over time it will begin to break down. By applying a protective coating on your roof, you can further help your roofing materials withstand the sun’s damaging rays.

Roof coatings are particularly important for flat roof systems. Because a flat roof has little to no slope, they take the full force of the heat and sun all day long. There are specialized roof coatings for flat roofs which are designed to help combat both heat and UV rays. When properly applied and maintained, roof coatings have the potential to significantly extend the life span of your roof.

For example, Elastomeric is a very popular roof coating in Arizona as it can reflect the sun’s UV rays, which can help improve the overall energy efficiency of your entire building. Similarly, silicon provides excellent UV protection and can help you achieve what is called a “cool roof” because of its white, reflective color.

Never Skip Your Routine Maintenance

Keeping your roof well-maintained is vital to protecting it from the summer heat and sun. Regular roof inspections can alert you to any worn-out or degraded roofing materials so that you can repair and replace them before the sun and heat can do any more damage.

Springtime is an excellent time to schedule your roof maintenance. Not only does this allow you to repair any damage caused by winter storms and cold snaps, but it also helps you prepare your roof for the summer. Our roof inspectors are incredibly thorough and will help you with both immediate repair issues and preventative maintenance measures.

Nature is packed with unique species that are beautiful in their own right. However, there’s a good chance you probably don’t want them taking up shelter in your roof. Every year animal infestations cost homeowners millions of dollars in repairs for the problems they cause, including problems to you roof.

Protecting your roof isn’t always easy either. However, making sure your roof is in good condition and regularly receives inspections from a professional roofer can help you avoid the hassle of having to deal with this damage once it’s become a major issue.

Termites

When it comes to animal threats to your home, no word strikes more fear into the heart of a homeowner than the word “termite.” Termites are small insects that feast on wood—the wood that’s used to construct your roof, your walls, and just about everything else in your home’s structure. Colonies may have as many as a million termites or more—enough to eat a pound of wood per day. Of course, when termites are hidden inside your walls or up in your attic, you may not find this until it’s too late and your dealing with major structural damage to your roof. If you discover termite damage, it’s strongly advised you call an exterminator as soon as possible.

Mice & Rats

Mice and rats are a never-ending threat for homeowners. They have powerful senses of smell and are attracted to even the faintest whiffs of food. They’ll chew their way into just about anything to get it, and they spread like crazy. Mice and rats are also both known for creating their nests in your walls and in the rafters above your home, which makes them a threat to the condition of your roof. They’ll also chew on other things like PVC pipe and electrical cabling, which can cause all sorts of other damage.

Birds

Birds may be able to soar through the sky, but that doesn’t mean they can stay aloft forever. They have to land eventually and when they do they’re known for causing damage. Birds have been known to build nests in the eaves or tight spaces on rooftops, which can damage your roof’s surface or break the materials. Some birds also are known to find food in the form of something like a nut and then drop it on a hard surface in order to crack it open. This may not seem like much, but the truth is that this pecking and jabbing can cause damage, especially to softer flat roof surfaces like what you’ll find on a lot of commercial building structures.

Keeping birds away is usually not that difficult, however: a plastic owl hung in a strategic location tends to do the job pretty well.

If animals have caused damage to your roof, have it repaired by the pros at Done Right Roofing!