Add Years of Life to Your Existing Roof

By Bob McCrickard.

Understanding the importance of trimming your trees.

Editor's note: While Bob may no longer be with us, he continues to share his love of roofing. Enjoy one of Bob's articles below.

It takes a small amount of effort each year, but over the period of a year, dividing your roof maintenance up into four seasons, it spreads it out so as not to be an overwhelming project. As a homeowner, what should you look for without getting up on the roof?

With the high winds of the winter and spring, roofs can get damaged by trees that surround the home. We all love our trees for their appearance and for the shade they bring in the summer, but they can be the biggest killer of a roof. Trees around the house drop pods, moss, branches, limbs and leaves that land and stay on the roof, causing piles and damming up valleys, which can lead to leaks. The leaves and debris need to be cleaned off the roof and disposed of. 

Depending on when you trim your trees, it is still a good idea to cut off any low hanging limbs that can scratch or rub against the roof. This may surprise you, but a blowing tree limb can scratch the roof surface of an asphalt shingle roof and wear off the granules. Exposing the asphalt mat or having missing granules on a roof will kill it very quickly and surely will void any warranties you may have. Metal roofs can also be victims of trees. They can scratched just as easily as an asphalt shingle roof and can be dented by falling branches.

With a pair of binoculars, find a safe place to stand - the higher the better. Now you can stand back from the house and look for these low hanging tree branches and also look for damaged or missing shakes, broken tiles or blown off asphalt shingles. Metal and lower sloped roofs may need closer attention.

Doing this inspection from the ground takes a short amount of time, can make your roof last longer and can save you money by avoiding having to fix a bigger problem that was left un-repaired. 

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