According to the National Roofing Contractors Association, your facility’s roof should be inspected at least twice a year—once during fall months, and again in the late spring.
Regular roof inspections are especially important for buildings in areas with severe seasonal storms or harsh climates. Your fall roof inspection helps to identify recent storm damage, prevent major system failures and ward off leaks—in addition to protecting your total envelope package.
Fortunately, the inspection process can typically be completed in a few hours, whether you are more comfortable hiring a roofing professional or tackle the job yourself.
This year when you undertake your fall roof inspection, remember to include the important inspection points listed below.
1. After carefully ascending the roof, perform a visual check of all gutters, drains and scuppers. Are your gutters free of debris? Do they appear well-anchored? You may need to clean out gutters and install new anchors in order to ensure proper fall/winter drainage. Blocked drains are the biggest source of roof leaks so attend to them before the rain storms hit.
2. Observe the roof flashings during your fall roof inspection. Look for signs of fatigue: splits and cracks along seams, vents, expansion joints, walls and perimeters which are the hardest hit by your facility’s movement as temperatures rise and fall. Flashing must seal the joints at gravel stops, curbs, chimneys, vents, parapets, walls, expansion joints, skylights, built-in gutters and other places where the membrane is interrupted or terminated. Flashings are the most common source of all roof problems.If you discover faulty flashing you should call a roofing contractor to help.
3. If your roof is a single-ply system, look for open seams, laps and tenting and billowing. If your roof is asphalt, examine the shingle surface. As asphalt and composite roofing material ages, it loses its granule (or gravel) covering. Built-up roofs with bare spots, warping or curling edges need to be replaced. If you have a metal roof, you’re looking for signs of pitting, corrosion or gapping seams during your fall maintenance inspection—since they could easily lead to leaks or underlay damage.
4. Check for overgrown landscaping. Heavy tree branches and buildup of tree debris can cause undue damage to your roof’s surface, so it’s important to remove debris and trim back large, dangling branches. Hiring a tree care company is often the safest way to tackle this problem. Make sure all skylights are not broken or cracked due to falling limbs and debris.
If you’re concerned with climbing and walking the roof yourself, don’t avoid accessing the roof’s condition. Instead, hire a qualified roofing specialist to do the job. Call us at 800-551-5602 today to inquire about your no-cost, no-obligation roof replacement consultation—or to schedule your complete fall roofing inspection.
Note: Your safety is of primary importance. The following are some tips to look out for on your roof. We recommend you use a professional to inspect and maintain your roof as they will take proper safety measures when accessing your roof. If you insist on doing your own roof inspection or maintenance, at the very least make sure you tell someone of your intentions because if you do fall, you could be incapacitated for a long time before someone is aware of your problem.