After bearing through the winter months, people yearn for warm summer days. Summer brings with it lake days, firework displays, and perfectly ripe fruit. Still, summer also brings another critical factor: The hot sun! Although humans long for warmer days, the heat of summer can have some very destructive qualities on your home, especially your roof.
Your roof protects your home from outside elements, and since its job is to defend, it absorbs the impacts of all of the seasons' threats. Here are three tips to ensure that your roof can handle all of summer's blows.
Check for Damage
Summer isn't the only season that your roof protects you from. Roofs often incur damage from winter's snow and ice and spring's storms and hail. Once the summer months bring warmer weather, make sure you get up there and inspect for damage from previous seasons. While you're already examining the roof's condition, it's a good time to clean your gutters from debris collected during spring storms.
If you find shingles that are warped, cracked, blistered, or missing, those are all issues that need to be addressed immediately. Staying ahead of damaged areas can prevent an entire roof replacement, so if you aren't comfortable inspecting your own roof, call a roofing company to schedule an inspection by a professional.
Cool it Down
In the height of the summer heat, your roof can range up to 60 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. That means if it's 90 degrees outside, it can be almost 150 degrees on your roof. Just like a sunburn damages your skin and can cause cancer, the heat and UV ray exposure that your roof experiences break down its protective materials too. Hot summer days cause your roof to expand and mollify the asphalt on your shingles. The nights cool your roof back down. This rapid change in temperature leaves older roofs susceptible to thermal shock.
Ensuring your roof has proper ventilation and insulation is your best preventative measure to help your roof beat the heat. Check for the presence of hot or cold areas in your home as they tend to indicate poor ventilation. If your attic feels damp, has issues of leaking, or mold growth, these also might be attic ventilation issues.
Fix the Faults
There's no way around the last tip. Your roof protects your greatest investment and your most precious people. Suppose you find any issues during your summer inspection, like damaged or missing shingles, warps in your roof or roofing material, or improper ventilation issues. In that case, you have to get those repaired. The good news is the summer months are the perfect time to schedule with a roofing contractor. Ensure your roof maintains proper functioning so it can sustain its job of protecting your home. Although we've identified how the summer heat can harm your roof, the hot summer sun also helps new shingles lay flat and seal quicker. Maybe summer is roofing season for a reason. Nescor is a well-established local roofing company in the Eastern US. Give us a call to learn more about our services.