Every house has a roof on top, and this roof can protect the home and people inside from the elements. The problem is that sometimes roofs may wear out, and they may even suffer trauma in some cases. If a roof’s tiles are missing or if the roof is leaking, roofing companies can send out contractors to fix the damage and even apply commercial roof decking or commercial waterproofing. These products, such as rubberized roofing paint, can go a long way toward sealing cracks and holes and preventing more from forming. If rubberized roofing paint is applied, a homeowner may not have to worry about future water damage. The owner of a very old home that they just purchased may need some work done on that roof, ranging from rubberized roofing paint all the way to having the entire roof replaced. Similar services may be offered for a wooden deck, and deck sealant and deck primer can be used either by a homeowner or by professionals to protect the wood from the elements.
About Roofs and Damage
A responsible homeowner will have their roof inspected once or twice per year, so that the homeowner can stay on top of developing problems and get them repaired sooner than later. In general, properly installed roofing can be expected to last just over 20 years, and this figure may be higher if the roof is well cared for, and metal roofs may last even longer. This leads to a large industry: the United States is home to a roofing contractor industry that generates a total of $46 billion each year. After all, many roofs need repairs or rubberized roofing paint added, and some roofs need to be removed and replaced entirely.
What might go wrong with the roof? Some roofs, especially asphalt shingle ones, may develop cracks or leaks, and tiles may get damaged and fall off over time. Worse still, blunt trauma such as heavy hail or wind-blown debris during a storm may damage the roof and knock off tiles. Hurricanes and tornadoes, in particular, are known to create strong winds that may buffet roofs and strike them with debris big and small. In other cases, simple age means that small cracks and leaks may develop in the roof, or squirrels may chew their way into the attic to build nests. In these cases, rain water and melting snow have easy ingress into the house, and this causes trouble. Unprotected wooden decks may also suffer from rain damage.
A leaking roof admits water into the house where it doesn’t belong, and this water can cause all sorts of expensive damage. To begin with, water can leak into the roof and rot and expand the wooden surfaces there, and even foster accelerated mold growth. In addition, leaking water in the home will damage drywall, and create ugly stains that necessitate expensive repairs. Leaking rain water might also short out electric components in the walls, and leaks allow water to pool on the floor at the lowest points. All of this can be a real hassle and be expensive to fix, to repairing the roof is a fine preventative measure. A homeowner who can’t easily reach their roof may instead look up local roofing contractors to get this work done.
Roof Fixes
If a roof is leaking, or if an inspections reveals some developing cracks or holes, professionals can get onto the roof and apply waterproof products such as rubberized roofing paint and liquid rubber. These products will seal up existing holes and cracks and block any water from getting through, and this material may help prevent new cracks from forming. In addition, roofers may find and remove squirrels from the attic and seal up the holes that they chewed to get in. These roofing professionals may also apply special paint to the roof and attic that will discourage squirrels from trying to chew their way in again. And in other cases, where a roof is very old and leaking a lot, a homeowner may instead have the entire roof removed and replaced with a new one. The new roof may be another asphalt shingle model with updated hardware, and a “fixer-upper” house may need this work done when purchased by a new owner.
