Throughout the nation leafing season grips people and sends them to the Southeast, namely, South Carolina. The beautiful changing of seasons is a visual marvel, but for homeowners, it’s a pain. You have visitors in town, people gawking at trees, and leaves attacking your roof. It’s a comical and frustrating complaint that nearly every homeowner in Oconee County can understand.
Can Falling Leaves Damage My Roof?
Leaves are like any other pest that attacks your home. One single leaf is no problem, but hoards of leaves and your home doesn’t stand a chance. Leafing season brings in the hoards, and you need to take action.
How can leaves damage your roof? Going through the cycle, first, leaves fall off the trees and land gently on your roof. Then another, and another until you have a nice layer of orange and red foliage on your roof and in your gutters. The gutters are obvious problems, they’re now clogged and will require cleaning. However, that layer of leaves on the roof has trapped moisture.
Moisture trapped between your roof’s shingles and the leaves will result in wood rot, shingle curling, and mold. All the while, your home looks like a postcard. Homeowners struggle year after year to get ahead and keep leaves off their roof but it hardly ever turns out well.
On the east coast in particular as well as through the North where there is a substantial amount of snowfall roofs have steeper pitches. This helps ensure that snow doesn’t buildup and put the roof at risk. However, it does help leaves fall off the roof as well.
Protecting Your Gutters
First step in preparing for leafing season is to protect your gutters. When your gutters fill up with leaves, they take on damage quickly. Regardless if they’re metal or plastic gutters can crack as the rain comes in and builds up because of a clog. Additionally leaves in your gutter system heighten the risk of ice dams in the winter.
To get ahead, consider installing a gutter guard system. A thin layer of mesh screening or in some cases rather thick metal prevents leaves from actually getting into the gutters. These gutter guards are generally easy to install and can protect your gutter system and roof for years.
With a gutter guard, you do still need to do a sweep across the system to ensure that rainwater can enter the gutters. Usually, people can comfortably stand on the ground and with a soft-bristled broom or leaf blower, move the leaves off the gutter system.
You can protect your gutter system without letters and without having to spend hours pulling out the muck, nests, and handfuls of decomposing tree parts.
Correcting and Preventing Shingle Damage
What do you do when the damage has already been done? Least years leafing season likely left your roof with some damage. Call a contractor and see what repairs you need to make. Curling and damages shingles are simple things to fix but can lead to substantial problems if left uncorrected.
Additionally mold on your roof, characterized by long black streaks, can invite in unwanted pests. A roofing contractor can correct all of these problems. Schedule your roof inspection now and see what recommended repairs come in for your roof.
After you’ve corrected any damage from the last few years, you can focus on maintaining the health of your roof. Of course, it’s easier to maintain roofs for one-story homes where you don’t have to scale a ladder.
From the ground, you can protect your roof with a leaf blower however it’s not advised for roofing. Also, don’t use rakes to pull leaves off of your roof. Even “no-clog” rakes which promise not to skewer leaves can scratch and damage shingles. However, there are specific roof-rakes which are generally safe to use although usually tailored for snow. An alternative is a wide-set, soft-bristled push broom.
A soft broom or roof rake still needs a little finesse. Never “attack” the layer of leaves on your roof.
Contact Anderson Metal Roofing & Shingles Before The Season Changes
Homeowners are in a wonderful position to schedule preventative care to avoid costly issues down the road. Contact your roofing contractor today to start setting up an end-of-summer inspection.
Anderson Metal Roofing & Shingles services Oconee County and the surrounding area, and we help homeowners with all of their roofing concerns and aim to provide care tips and help homeowners maintain their home’s health. Contact our roofing contractors for any repairs or inspections. Get ahead of leaf and winter damage by scheduling repairs near the end of summer.
