A Guide to Roofing Maintenance

By Elite Roofing.  

“Roofing maintenance” is a broad term that gets thrown around a lot, but what does it mean exactly? Elite Roofing’s “guide to roofing maintenance” is here to help you understand.  

Roofs and people have a lot more in common than you think. Just like people, roofs need to have “checkups” annually or bi-annually. Consistent checkups can extend the life of your roof significantly, but what exactly does “roof maintenance” entail? This comprehensive guide from Elite Roofing is here to answer all of your burning questions.  

What Is roof maintenance? 

What exactly is roof maintenance? Roof maintenance is the periodical checking of all the vulnerable areas on a roof that could be susceptible to having a problem. Depending on the type of roof, whether it be residential or commercial, it will be annual, biannual, or quarterly maintenance. Just as you would regularly perform maintenance on your car, maintenance on your roof is just as important! We would like to stress the importance of receiving annual or semiannual roof maintenance as it can help your roofing contractor catch any minor problems that need to be addressed before turning into a costly repair.  

What does roof maintenance include? 

Now that you’ve learned what roof maintenance is, let’s look at what roof maintenance involves, specifically here at Elite Roofing: 

• Gutter cleaning: Although generally recommended to do twice a year regardless if you have roof maintenance, your annual or semiannual roof maintenance will include gutter cleaning. For this, we make sure your gutters are cleared of any debris or leaves to ensure that your gutters are properly draining rainwater. Not only does having cleaned gutters protect your roof from pooling water but can help extend the longevity of your gutters, as well!  
• Debris removal: Just as we would do for your gutters, we also clear any debris that can be found on your roof! This may include tree branches, leaves and/or any accumulated dirt that can affect the drainage of your roof. Debris can also cause excessive unnecessary weight to sit on your roof which can overall affect your roof's lifespan.  
• General inspection: When receiving roof maintenance, your roofing contractor will perform a general roof inspection to ensure there is no visible damage. Common types of damage include cracks or general wear on your roof's pipe boots, loose or missing caulking, loose fascia, etc., which tend to happen due to harsh weather and overall aging. A general inspection will help both yourself and your roofer make sure your roof is in its best condition and catch any minor issues that need to be addressed.  
• Minor repairs: In the event that your roofing contractor happens to find a minor issue, your roofing contractor will more than often have the necessary tools and/or materials to fix it right then and there. For instance, certain flat roofs have a protective reflective layer that we call Silver Coat; if your roofer feels it's necessary they may add a thin layer to ensure it has the proper sealing ability. Other types of minor repairs can be to re-flash pipe boots or adding a new layer of tar where it is necessary.  
• Estimate for repairs: Although uncommon if you already get annual or semiannual roof maintenance, there is a possibility that over time something has been damaged that is outside of the warranty. In this case, a tree that has fallen in a storm and created an opening in your roof would not be under a roof maintenance warranty. During your roof maintenance, if your roofing contractor finds a new problem that wasn’t created due to any work they’ve previously performed, they will inform you of the damage and provide a cost for repair which will be scheduled for a later date.  

Will having annual/semiannual roof maintenance help my roof? 

Here at Elite Roofing, we like to compare our roof maintenance to an annual doctor's visit. Although nothing may seem to be an issue, underlying/minor issues on your roof can very easily turn into costly repairs or replacements that could have easily and quickly been addressed during the maintenance. In order to protect such a big investment, we urge you as a homeowner to schedule roof maintenance at least once a year in order to extend the overall longevity of the roof which in turn protects the integrity of your home and its foundation.