Summer’s here and the heat’s on – it can be easy to neglect your roof in the process, but you should never forget that summer weather is unpredictable. The sun may shine for weeks on end, or it may rain continuously for days at a time. Your roof is vulnerable to both extremes, so you need to monitor it as best as possible. All of our readers will get some great tips from this article about how you can make sure any damage that comes up in the process gets taken care of quickly and easily. Start by checking out these tips:

 

1. Set up an umbrella over your roof if there are any holes (for example if your gutters are overflowing). 
2. Fill small-sized objects like plastic bottles with water so they’ll float and make it easy to spot damage.
3. Cover any windows (e.g. your bay or skylight) that you have on your roof – this will help reduce the risk of water entering your windows and causing costly damage.
4. Consider installing a solar panel (or two) on the roof if you live in an area that gets a lot of sunshine throughout the year – if it’s been raining a lot, then this will provide a nice saving to your energy bills as well.
5. Your attic could be leaking – check all of the areas where you’ve stored things like furniture and stuff you’ve used over the years – sometimes there are leaks at these spots.
6. If you notice a lot of heavy rain coming from your roof, it’s best to have a roofing company check out your roof before you get too worried. They’ll know what needs to be done, and they’ll probably have a warranty that will make sure that any damage gets repaired quickly – no matter who caused the problem.
7. If your gutters are overflowing or if there’s a lot of water coming down from the sides of the house, then your gutter system could be leaking or damaged. You should call in a leak detection company to check it out as soon as possible.
8. You’ll need a flashing at the corners of your roof – these will make sure that water doesn’t pool up in the corners.
9. You need to put a new layer of shingles over your old ones – this is where an underlayment comes in handy.
10. If you notice that the wind’s coming from the side or if there’s a lot of loose shingle and you want to prevent it from sliding off, then you should put some felt paper under it and staple it down.

 

Additional repairing tips

Use weather-stripping to ensure that water doesn’t come through anywhere on your roof. If the wind’s been blowing through your house and there’s a lot of damage that you can’t see, then you should get some attic ventilation installed – this will prevent a lot of damage from happening.

 

Clean out water from around your vents – you should always clean out all of the water that gets in through your vents. If you see any loose shingles or if you notice that the top layer is starting to wear down, then it’s time for a new layer of shingles.

 

You should re-seal the gutter joints if they’re not airtight. Clean out the debris after a storm so it doesn’t blow inside your house. Consider installing a skylight with a built-in wind deflector and a rain sensor – this way you’ll be able to tell if there’s any water on your roof.

 

You can seal up leaks or areas that have been damaged by using roofing cement or asphalt mastic. You can use tarps to repair leaking gutters, particularly if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain during the summer. If you’re in a very windy area, then you should consider putting up some chimneys that can help prevent wind from coming inside your house.

 

If there’s any damage to the fascia or ledges around your roof, then you should get it taken care of as soon as possible. If there’s any damage to your chimney soffit, then you should get them replaced as soon as possible. In order to prevent shingles from getting damaged in the rain, you can use tar paper or asphalt roll roofing instead – but you have to do it in the right way.

 

You should also put some kind of a vapor barrier under your felt paper layer to prevent any water pooling there and causing damage. The best time to do a new layer of shingles is in the springtime, before summer comes back with a vengeance.

 

If you notice that your shingle is starting to fail, then it’s time for a new one – they last longer than regular shingles if you take care of them properly and all of this will help prevent damage from happening. If you have a skylight, then make sure that you clean out the gutters and that there’s nothing to block it – sometimes birds will leave their nests behind them which could cause more problems. Get a birdhouse or some bird feeders to distract the birds away from your roof – they’ll find somewhere else to live and you won’t have any more problems. 

Conclusion

If there’s something going on with your roof, then it’s best to get on top of it before it gets too bad. Since summer is unpredictable, you need to look after your roof so you can use your home throughout the whole season.