Is Your Roof Leaking? Follow These Steps to Permanently Repair Your Roof
A leaking roof can occur for multiple reasons and if the roof is not maintained roof leak repairs will be required to fix it up so it is in reasonable shape again.
A roof specialist will be able to attend your property to check for the roof leak repairs which will depend on the material (tiled or metal). A roof fix for a tiled roof can include Re-bedding, Re-Pointing, Cracked or Chipped tiles, Valley repairs or replacement or Flashing repairs.
If roof repairs are required on a metal roof, a roof specialist will attend and check for items such as areas that require siliconing, rusted screws, rusted roof sheets, missing rivets, perished deck tights, incorrect fall and inadequate flashings.
For gutter and downpipe leaks a roof specialist would check for rusted or blocked gutters, gutters with incorrect fall, blocked downpipes, sealing, mildew on underside of gutters, rust bubbles which appear from underside of gutters and water marks appearing on underside of eaves.
The quickest solution will be to repair your leaking roof. Immediate action should be taken as delaying the roof repairs will only end up adding extra costs in the future. If you leave the roof without repair it can ruin the insulation and damage ceilings/plaster.
Some Steps You Can Take From Here Are:
Take a look around your property at your gutters/downpipes to see if you notice any rust or water coming through. For your roof you can take a look from the ground and if you notice any cracked cement work or broken tiles, this will give you a good indication on whether or not you need some roof repairs done. You should be careful to not walk on the roof if you are unfamiliar with this as it can be a safety hazard and you could also cause damage whilst up there.
If there are big trees that hang over your roof, as well as bushes and trees near your home, know that they are a threat to the welfare of your roof and home.
They can damage your roof if they’re close enough to get into contact with it by puncturing it and even scratching it. They can also encourage the build-up of debris in your gutters.
There is no need to cut the trees down. Trimming them regularly and ensuring that there are no bushes and branches hanging over your home is a great option to keep on top of this.
Take note of any other items that you know of around your house that could need work such as flashings, skylights or chimneys. Some ways to prevent water ingress here are:
Chimney:
Make sure that your chimney is regularly caulked. This is the same with skylights because when these aren’t caulked, the problem will quickly spread to your roof.
This is most often caused by a problem with your chimney flashing, which begins from your chimney to your roof. When there’s a problem with it, you can begin experiencing leaks from your roof; however, it might not be evident that this is actually coming from your chimney.
Flashings:
Flashings can be a major cause of leaking roofs. This could be from either incorrect installation or the weathering/deterioration of the silicon applied to seal them. If not attended to in a timely manner additional work may be required to the timber underneath the roof.
Finding a Roof Specialist...
The best way to ensure you contact a reputable roof specialist is to take a look at their previous work by checking out their Google, website or any other online source. Another way to ensure you enlist help from a professional in their field is to look at their reviews and ensure previous customers are happy with the work and service provided. It is also really important to check what kind of warranty the business provides as you need to ensure that if any issues come up in the future the roof specialist will come back and resolve these for you.
Upon inspection the roof specialist should get up onto the roof and take a good look around, you can ask them to take photos as well so that you understand better exactly what they are talking about.
Upon receiving a quote or report for roof repairs or gutter repairs the roof specialist should list each item in detail and if you require clarification ensure you ask, as it is important that you understand the work being carried out.
Once you accept the quoted work and the team starts work on your property it is inevitable that some noise and mess will be present throughout (especially if your roof is being washed) however your property should be left in a clean and tidy condition upon completion.