Based on what type of roof you have, you can expect it to last for a certain age. For example, tile roofs can easily last for more than 30 years. However, choosing the best roof material for your home isn’t enough to ensure its longevity because there are a lot of factors that influence its lifespan.
Portland roofing experts recommend you should take note of the following three factors that affect a roof’s lifespan:
Regular Maintenance
No matter what type of roof you have, without regular maintenance, you risk shortening its lifespan considerably. Roof maintenance should be performed once or twice a year for residential homes depending on various circumstances, and it will also help you clear your gutters of debris.
If you have plenty of trees around your home, there is a higher chance of accumulating debris on your roof. Leaves can build up, and they often carry water or help in water accumulation. Once they begin to rot, they can also affect your roof, especially shingle roofs, as the moisture gets into them.
If you let this happen, you can expect some serious damage over time, and even a roof replacement much faster than anticipated, which is why regular roof maintenance is essential to ensure your roof’s lifespan or even extend it.
Anytime you see that your roof is filled with plenty of leaves, you should remove them. You should also consider removing the tree branches that cover your roof as they can fall during a storm and damage it, providing shade for mold to grow, or let smaller animals reach your roof. If you observe the presence of moss or algae, call in an expert to remove them as soon as you can. These things extend and can damage your roof in time pretty heavily. The longer you wait, the more issues you will have to deal with later.
How Often Your Roof Is Exposed to Extreme Weather
Depending on where you are located, you might deal with more extreme weather than other homeowners. Extreme weather doesn’t have any mercy on your roof and will considerably shorten its lifespan.
What you can do in this situation, apart from regular maintenance, is choose the right type of roof based on the possible dangers brought forth by weather. In regions where small hail storms occur more often, shingle roofs will lose their granules a lot faster.
If you have a metal roof and it often needs to hold off against bigger hail storms and snow, the painted finish will take a beating and weaken. As such, make sure that the type of roof you have is suitable for the weather or climate conditions that you are most often exposed to.
There might be other solutions as well for various weather problems, such as painting your roof in lighter colors so it doesn’t absorb heat as much as darker colors do, and this way, you can also cool your home as well and cut down on costs.
Your Roofing Contractor’s Workmanship
Lastly, and probably the most crucial factor affecting your roof’s lifespan, is your roofing contractor’s workmanship. Roof materials are rarely of poor quality, but poor workmanship is sadly common.
Your roof will never reach its full potential or exhibit its true durability if it isn’t installed properly. Everything from inadequate attic insulation to improper nailing or working while weather conditions aren’t favorable will affect your roof’s lifespan.
If you have a bad roofing contractor working on installing your roof, you can expect regular repairs and a big premature fail. A warranty might help you, but who knows what other issues you might face again with the same roofer.
Because of this, it’s important to do your research thoroughly before hiring a roofing contractor and ensure the roof is installed properly from the beginning. You should ask around to get some opinions or gauge a roofer’s online reviews and see how they stand in the eyes of the community. After that, contact them and see how everything goes. All you need to do after this, even if the roof is installed correctly, is to take care of it, and it will last you for many years to come.
