With summer just around the corner, it’s time to make sure your whole home is ready for all that the season will bring. With soaring temperatures and summer storms just a couple of the elements you can look forward to, there’s plenty to prepare your home for.
Even components of your home that seem fairly static, such as your roof, are important to prepare for the rigors of summer weather. To make sure you’re ready when summer arrives, here are four steps to ensure your roof is ready for summer.
No Missing Shingles
When summer storms arrive, you want to be sure that none of the water finds its way into your home. One way to do this is to check your roof for any missing shingles. Missing shingles can cause gaps in your roof’s waterproof outer layer, putting your home at risk of leaks. If you do notice missing shingles, it’s important to carefully install replacements to ensure you don’t chip or damage the surrounding shingles. This is best done by a professional, though it can be handled on your own if you are very careful on the roof.
Keeping it Cool
Another important function of your roof is keeping out as much heat as possible. To help with this goal, it’s vital that you have a roof insulation service to inspect your insulation to ensure it is adequate to protect against the heat in your area. Poor insulation allows cool air to escape from your home more quickly and allows hot air from outside to make its way from your attic into your living space. In both cases, this causes you to have to run your air conditioner more, which will increase your utility bills.
Goodbye, Nail Pops
The extreme heat during the summer can cause some of the nails that hold down your shingles to back out of the wood. This condition, known as nail pops, can leave your roof vulnerable to water intrusion. Therefore, it is important to inspect your roof in the spring, when the temperatures are still mild, to see if you notice this condition developing. If so, you will want to repair it before the extreme temperatures make this condition worse.
Clean Your Gutters
Your gutters are just as important to the protection and longevity of your roof as the roof itself. Without clean gutters in place, the moisture from your roof will have nowhere to go, which can cause the moisture to back-up under the shingles, damaging the sheathing. Carefully remove all debris from the entire length of all gutters, being extra careful to check for any debris accumulations around the inlets of your downspouts.
While getting your roof ready for summer can be strenuous, it’s also a crucial part of responsible homeownership. Properly preparing your roof for the summer will help your roof to last longer and ensure that your roof is providing adequate protection for the rest of your home. Once the job is done, you can sit back and relax with confidence, knowing that your roof is ready to take on all that summer has in store.
