A Beginners Guide To Spotting Roof Damage: What To Look For

A Beginners Guide To Spotting Roof Damage: What To Look For

One duty every homeowner or property manager has to fulfill is maintenance. You must maintain your house or property to ensure that any damage does not cause further problems. One area of the house that needs maintenance is the roof.

If the roof is damaged, the occupants will be affected by natural elements such as rain, snow, sunlight, and wind. It is important to repair the damage as soon as possible to avoid causing further damage to the house and harming the occupants. You might not know the signs to look for if you have never repaired a roof. 

Roofing New Orleans is manageable. Here is a beginners guide to spotting roof damage.

Daylight Shining Through

One of the most common signs of roof damage is daylight shining through the roof. When you see beams of light coming from the outside through your roof, it shows that there are holes in the roof. If the beams of light are one or two, the damage is small, but if you can see numerous beams, the damage is severe; therefore, you need to repair the roof as soon as possible. 

Leaking When It Rains

Sometimes the holes on the roof might be too small to let sunlight through, but when it rains, you see drops of water leaking through the roof. Water leaking through the roof can cause damage to the house and property inside the house. Due to the weather, roofing in New Orleans needs to be perfect to keep out all the weather elements. 

Mold And Mildew Growth

Sometimes a roof leak can go undetected if the house has a ceiling, but you will find mold or mildew growing on the walls or ceiling after some time. The ceilings will also develop spots and discoloration, and if the leak is close to the walls, the paint on the wall might start to peel off. If you see mold, mildew, or any other signs of water leaking through your roof, you need to hire a roofing expert as soon as possible to fix the issue. 

Damaged Or Missing Shingles

One of the most common signs of roof damage is damaged or missing shingles. When you are inspecting a house on the outside, you should check for any damaged or missing shingles. Strong winds can damage or remove shingles during extreme weather conditions such as storms. 

Damaged shingles have cracks, holes or are curled. If you are buying a house in New Orleans that has damaged or missing shingles, you should get a company that does roofing in New Orleans to repair the damaged shingles or replace the missing ones. If the damage is severe, you should ask the seller to repair the roof before you purchase the house. 

Replace Your Roofing In New Orleans if You Have Granules In The Gutter

If the house has asphalt shingles, one sign that could tell you the roof has damage is granules washing away in the gutters. The granules on the shingles should stay intact because they provide protection from UV rays. When it rains, and you start to notice granules in the gutters, it could mean the shingles are getting old and need to be replaced. 

Musty Smell In The Attic

You must inspect the attic when looking at a house you intend to buy. It is hard to detect water leaks on holes in the roof if the house has an attic without going into the attic. Once you go into the attic and you notice a musty smell, it means there is roof damage, and water or moisture is leaking into the house.

You need to do a roof inspection to determine where the damage is. Since you or your tenants will use the attic, fixing the roof damage will ensure that the smell goes away after some time. If the smell continues even after fixing the roof, you should get an experienced inspector to check the roof and get to the root of the problem. 

Age Of The House

One simple way of determining if the house has roof damage is the age of the house. New houses in New Orleans have less or no roof damage; hence there is no need for an expert in roofing in New Orleans. However, if a house was built many years ago, chances are there is roof damage, and you need to do a thorough inspection of the house. 

Loose Step Flashing

Flashing provides waterproofing on the roof, which is placed between the shingles and surfaces that stick out of your roof, such as chimneys or skylights. If the step flashing is loose, water will flow through the chimneys or skylight’s surface and leak into your house. It is difficult to detect loose step flashing; hence you need an expert to climb on the roof and check the flashing regularly. 

Roof Or Ceiling Is Sagging

The roof or ceiling sagging is a serious problem that should be fixed immediately, and no one should occupy that house until the problem is fixed. Sagging usually occurs when the roof has a leaking problem and is not fixed for a long time. To fix the issue, you must replace part of the roof or ceiling and reinforce some of the rafters. 

Damaged Or Missing Gutters

Gutters are important because they prevent water from entering your house by channeling it to the correct area. If any of the gutters are damaged or missing, all the rainwater will collect on your roof and start leaking into the walls. New Orleans usually experiences extreme weather conditions; hence it is important to get an expert in roofing in New Orleans to inspect and repair your roof and gutters. 

Maintaining Your Roof

The roof is the most important part of the house, and you need to ensure it is well-maintained to avoid damaging other parts of your house. Some of the signs of roof damage can be spotted with ease, but others can be hidden and would need experts to check them. When you find a sign of roof damage, ensure you fix it as soon as possible and always inspect your roof to keep it in good condition.

Will Smith

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