Emergency roof damage can happen unexpectedly. Most of the time, property owners recognize the damage immediately. Emergency roof damage include collapsed ceilings, tree branches falling and breaking through your roof decking, or a massive roof leak. However, minor roofing problems such as popped nails, missing shingles, etc. go unnoticed as the wear and tear on your home happens over time. Delaying these minor maintenance repairs can impact your roof in the long run. Most homeowners don’t realize that these minor issues start small, but over time can cause significant damage or structural roof failure. This occurs due to the exposition of outside elements to the underlying roofing materials that accelerates the degradation process of your roof.
We have created an article to help you examine the effects of deferred roof maintenance. Understanding these small damages that turn long term will help you financially and keep you and your family/employees safe. Let’s proactively protect your property together!
Progressive Water Damage and Structural Deterioration
Your roofs main role is to keep water and weather elements out of your home. When minor damages occur on your roof, there is a risk that moisture begins to compensate the underlying layers of your roof.
Residential Consequences
Believe it or not, a single missing shingle or cracked flashing can allow water into your attic. Therefore, over time this moisture builds up and rots the wood rafters and decking. Furthermore, compromising your roof’s structure. This damage occurs in hidden spaces, so it often progresses silently until your roof is in bad shape. Once you notice these small damages, they’ve already most likely caused sagging roof, interior leaks, etc.
With a routine maintenance, these small issues would’ve been caught early on calling for only a small patch repair. Ignoring a routine maintenance with your roofer can lead to these negative larger possibilities in the future.
Commercial Implications
TPO or EPDM is the most common roofing material for commercial facilities. Despite the strong durability of this single ply membrane material, small punctures or a failing seam is possible. If punctured, slow moving leaks can occur. Water intrusion can damage equipment, ruin inventory, and interrupt business operations. Furthermore, your HVAC system sits on top of the roof. If these leaks occur, it can cause the decking to fail and pose severe risks to your staff.
Decreased Energy Efficiency
As you probably already know, your roof helps regulate the temperature of your home. Keeping your roof well maintained will help keep your property cold in the summer and warm in the winter.
If a small leak allows moisture to saturate your roof insulation, the material loses its thermal resistance, known as its R-value. Wet insulation conducts heat rather than blocking it. Consequently, your HVAC system must work harder to maintain a comfortable indoor climate. This inefficiency leads to higher utility bills. Over some time, the cost of this wasted energy can exceed the price of the initial roof repair that caused this inefficiency.
Threat of Mold & Mildew Proliferation
Moisture accruing in your roof creates mold and mildew growth. Small leaks can introduce humidity and fuel a mold infestation within wall cavities, attics, and drop ceilings.
Listed below are the complications mold can pose to homeowners and business owners:
- Health Risk to Family/Employees
- Mold remediation is an expensive process: Removing the mold growth requires and extensive sanitation process. Sometimes even requiring replacement of drywall, insulation, and carpeting.
Addressing a minor roof leak early on through a routine maintenance check with your roofer could have prevented the growth of these risks.
Premature Roof Replacement
Ignoring small roof issues shorten the life of your roof. If flashing deteriorates or shingles have lost their granules, the surrounding materials bear the brunt of UV rays and severe weather. This accelerated wear and tear forces home owners into an early full scale roof replacement. Investing in minor, routine repairs allows you to extract the maximum value and longevity out of your roof.
Uncompromising Standards with Us
Protecting your property requires a roof partner that you trust. We are a leading local roofing contractor specializing in residential and commercial roof repair. We service areas such as but not limited to Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, The Woodlands, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
We are a GAF Master Elite® Contractor. This certification is only offered to less than 2% of roofing contractors in America. Contractors who earn this title exhibit commitment to sales, service, and qualitative installation. Recently, our team was awarded to be part of the GAF Master Elite® President’s Club, which takes our team a step ahead in our commitment to installing qualitative repairs and replacements.
Contact our team today for a free roof inspection to determine if your roof needs a repair or replacement! From there, we can set up routine maintenance inspections to ensure your roof will last decades!
