For any homeowner, your roof is your first line of defense against extreme weather. This can be in the form of a foot of snow that accumulates overnight or high-speed winds that tear through a town. Therefore, maintaining a roof through inspections is crucial to ensuring that a home can protect itself. Neglecting a roof can lead to serious problems such as structural problems, mold, damaged insulation, and much worse. Therefore, it is important to seriously consider roof inspections with the correct professional.
When to Schedule Roof Inspections
Homeowners often wonder when the best time is to schedule a roof inspection. Typically, after a significant weather event, any homeowner should seriously consider receiving a professional roof inspection. However, this isn’t the only that you should schedule a roof inspection.
The most vital time of the year to have a roof inspection is the fall, especially before the cold temperature of winter sets in. The reason being that frigid temperatures can compromise the success of new roof installations. For instance, shingle repairs can be thwarted by freezing weather because the new shingles can seal down properly when it’s too cold outside. Additionally, conducting repairs in the winter can be treacherous due to icy roofs. This can cause those repairs to be suspended until spring when conditions become safer.
Inspections before winter are recommended so that repairs can be initiated in the fall and completed in the spring. A good example of such a repair is the treatment for moss and lichen. The solutions used to treat either of these invaders can require an extended amount of time, sometimes up to 180 days. Hence, if moss or lichen are detected, the winter months can be used to treat them.
Who Can Perform a Roof Inspection?
Although most homeowners can spot obvious roof problems, other types of damage are not as visible to the untrained eye. This is where a licensed, professional structural engineer becomes essential. The engineer will be looking for leaks, unusual wear and tear, damage by windblown debris, organic growth issues, and more.
The professional will not only check your roof for issues, but since roof leaks can damage your home, they will be checking the interior too. Water stains, mold, and rot are some of the signs that water may be making its way into your house. These are serious conditions which further reinforce the need for homeowners to take roof inspections seriously and hire a licensed professional.
Since we have discussed who is qualified to perform a roof inspection, we want to address how it should be performed. We have created a separate post which gives a general guideline as to how to perform a roof inspection. If you would like to learn a little more about what to be on the lookout for, feel free to check it out by clicking here!
If you need a roof inspection, call Sabio Engineering Services at (929) 381-0300 or visit our website.
Sabio Engineering Services
