Believe it or not, you don’t have to wait for leaking roofs to know that something is wrong with your home’s roof. Homeowners should regularly check the areas that they can see from the ground on their own. Then you should get a contractor out to inspect your roof at least once a year.
1. Ceiling Stains
Without a doubt, ceiling stains are the sign that you’re one good storm away from a leak. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that the leak is actually anywhere near where your ceiling stain is showing. You can find these leaks, or call in a contractor to have your roof repaired right away.
2. Damaged Shingles
Many people can notice damaged shingles with a simple glance at their roof in good weather. Cracked shingles, curled shingles, and missing shingles are issues that need immediate attention. Not only are these issues an eyesore, but there’s a substantial amount of risk with these issues too.
Damaged shingles lead to leaks, mold, mildew, and infestation. If you notice damaged shingles, you can choose to call a pro or attempt to replace them on your own. Most homeowners are not comfortable with climbing up onto their roof and working.
3. Dirty Soffits
Problems with attic ventilation can affect your central heating and air, the frame of your house and the overall energy efficiency. Soffits are the key to keeping good attic health. Soffits are vents that pull in the outside air and help create an airflow in your attic.
When air comes in, it should funnel through the soffits into the attic and push out hotter air through plastic air chutes. Dirty soffits allow moisture and heat to build up in your attic creating a breeding ground for mold.
You can check your soffits from under the edge of your roof, if you see debris, call a contractor.
4. Mold
If you see black lines where the roof comes together with the wall of your home, you have mold. It’s important to act against mold immediately. Hopefully, the mold is only on the exterior of the wall and has not set into the interior.
5. Rusted or Cracked Gutters
Rusted, cracked or even bent gutters can have a huge impact on your roof and be a sign of mold and fascia damage.
When cleaning your gutters look for signs of wear from the weather. These signs can help you catch damage when it is minimal. The best case scenario is that there is minor fascia damage. In some cases, you may be able to make it through a rainy season with gutter repair tape.
Damaged gutters need more than just a brush and thorough cleaning. They need replacement.
6. Rusted Flashing
This usually takes place around the chimney. Flashing is the metal trimming where the roof meets a corner or fixture on the roof. Rusted flashing is only a few months away from being completely useless leading to water seeping in, and wood rot.
Many people opt to place new flashing under old flashing, but that doesn’t address the eyesore. It also doesn’t guarantee that there’s a substantial amount of quality put into that effort. Galvanized steel was exceptionally popular for flashing for a long time, but it is exceptionally susceptible to rust.
The best way to spot rust is the orange-red color that will start to spur up around the base of your chimney or down where your roof comes together. However, you may notice the growth of moss or mildew that likes to work its way over rusted metal.
7. Dark Streaks
Dark streaks are one of the easiest to notice of all of the signs of roof damage. These dark streaks only show up in areas that see snow, rain and general humidity. Anderson, SC is known for all of these things and many homeowners through SC have trouble with mold.
Mold on your roof is a sign that it’s likely that your wood may be rotting, and even a sign that your carpentry is compromised.
If you notice dark streaks on your roof, you need to schedule a roof cleaning immediately. Dark streaks can be a homeowner’s first sign of termite infestation as well.
It’s critical that you address any of these signs right away. Many you can identify with a simple glance, and others require deeper inspection. Whenever you need any roof repair or want a full inspection, contact Anderson Metal Roofing & Shingles.
Anderson Metal Roofing & Shingles offers a full range of roofing services for all homeowners throughout Anderson, SC and the surrounding areas. Call today for a free quote, or to speak with one of our roofing contractors.
