The household is a reliable shelter for the people living in it, thanks not only to its walls but also it’s roofing. The roof serves as the first line of defense against the harsh elements, including UV rays, rainfall, heavy winds, and snow.
Because the roof protects against the elements, it sustains the damages that would have otherwise affected its inhabitants, resulting in its deterioration over time. Conducting regular roof inspection and maintenance is vital to ensure that it would last and continue to offer both shade and protection to anyone who would stay beneath it.
Neglecting on roof maintenance may not show any apparent problems on the surface, but one could get shocked when water starts dripping inside the home.
Both short-term and long-term problems can arise by neglecting to both inspect and maintain a roof. Among the short-term issues are water leaks, increased energy bills, mold and mildew infestations, and pest intrusions.
The leaks are common since they only need small blemishes in the roofing to manifest. These occur when the roof is not maintained for a long time. However, one only needs to plug the leaks to keep them from getting worse. Neglecting even the tiny hole would ruin your home’s insulation and damage your items in the attic until you’d need to replace the roof entirely.
Roofs with wet insulation, clogged gutters, and roof layers would lead to having mold and mildew infestations that can cause allergies and asthma. Besides being a health hazard, such infestations could also lead to further damage to the roof.
Damaged roofs can also make way for pests like rats, insects, squirrels, and raccoons to inhabit your attic. Such pests may require shelters of their own, and they’d be happy to take refuge beneath your damaged roof as they are readily accessible, depending on how large the hole is. While staying inside, they can make themselves at home and cause problems with your appliances. Sometimes, they might even cause fires.
Besides short-term problems, there are long-term ones that would arise from the short-term ones. Roofs neglected for years can have severe damages like minor leaks becoming worse water damage taking the form of more massive and more numerous leaks dripping on the floor.
A house suffering from severe water damage has its ceiling saggy and nearing collapse. The weight of water would eventually cause the ceiling to collapse. The mold would also increase from saggy ceilings.
Homes with damaged roofing also have their property value reduced since no one would want to buy a relatively expensive house with problems with the roofing. The price would tend to be lowered by tens of thousands of dollars due to roofing issues.
Patching up the roof early on is rather cheap, but waiting too long would require costly repairs. One might have to replace the entire roof and spend on damp flooring and damaged wall paint.
Having a damaged roof would cause problems for homeowners, and such can severely inconvenience people or exhaust their funds because they neglected their roofs. If you need more information on the short and long-term effects of roof neglect, see this infographic by Fahey Roofing Contractors.
