With this year’s hurricane season bringing about record damages, it’s important to keep your home and property safe. From the high winds to flying debris, your home needs to be inspected before and after the storm hits. But where do you start? Well, it should go without saying but it should be the place that gets the most weathering all year long: the roof. A damaged roof can lead to a slew of not only other home damages, but a can pose as a serious threat to your safety. In this blog, we offer suggestions on how to safely inspect your roof.
- Start Inside the Attic – First things first. Go into your attic during a bright and sunny day. An obvious sign of damage is if the sun is beaming through any of the plywood decking – this means that there are holes in need of immediate care. If there aren’t any obvious holes, use a flashlight to inspect the plywood. Look for dark stains, streaks and sagging. These three things can be attributed to moisture in the plywood, which will damage your roof over the long term. Repair as needed to avoid higher cost and more dangerous issues later.
- Go Outside – Contrary to popular belief, you should be able to see most roof damage from the ground level by looking up at it. Look for missing shingles, damaged shingles, dark patches where the granules have come off the shingles, bent or detached flashing and general debris. Long story short: if something doesn’t look right with your roof, it’s better to investigate further than to ignore it.
- Climb the Ladder – Finally, if you’re comfortable climbing a ladder to do some up close and personal inspection work, you should look for a few things. Look for loose nails or nail heads raised above the shingle surface, debris clogging your gutters and flashing on the upslope. Again, if it doesn’t look right, make note of your findings.
These three simple steps should help you quickly identify roof damage on your home or property. If you find damage and don’t feel comfortable servicing the damage yourself, be sure to contact a roofing contractor as soon as possible. As you wait for repairs, use the Strong Man Supreme UV Tarp or Woven and String Reinforced Poly as s temporary enclosure and to keep your property dry and safe.
The longer the damage stays, the costlier it can be in the long run. To find reputable, factory-certified contractors in your area, visit the GAF contractor locator at: http://www.gaf.com/roofing/contractors. If you do feel comfortable going DIY, make sure you have the right safety products. We have a wide variety of products that keep your crew safer, and if you don’t know where to start, contact us. Always stay safe on any jobsite with Strong Man!