Welcome to Family Roofing

A roof system is a big investment for homeowners and may represent a significant portion of construction costs.

It’s a roofer’s job to help the homeowner protect his or her investment by conducting thorough, careful maintenance on the roof on a regular basis.  This can help ensure it’s being properly protected.

What to expect from an asphalt roof

Asphalt is one of the most popular materials used in residential roofing.  In fact, statistics suggest four out of every five U.S. homes uses asphalt shingles.   They look good, they’re easy to accommodate on different building styles, and they hold up well against the elements.

What causes damage to a roof?

The average roof takes a lot of abuse over its lifetime – often more than other areas of the house. Some common examples include:

• Exposure to the elements (sunlight, wind, rain, hail, snow)

• Biological growth (blue-algae, tree or plant debris)

• Poor installation technique

• Inconsistent maintenance or repairs

• Change in building use (leading to increased humidity or imbalanced ventilation)

Why maintain a roof?

Even if there are no outward signs of obvious damage, every homeowner should ensure a professional regularly inspects and performs maintenance, where necessary, to a roof. Keeping it in healthy condition may protect the home.  Maintenance is an investment that may pay major returns down the road.

Four Steps to Regular Roof Maintenance

A roofer can help a homeowner properly maintain his or her asphalt shingled roof by completing four basic steps twice a year – plus after major storms (including ice, hail, snow or rain storms or other major weather events such as tornadoes and hurricanes).

Follow this roofing maintenance checklist

It’s important to also remind homeowners to always contact a licensed roofing contractor to help conduct both the inspection and repairs of their roof.

An important part of roof maintenance is the routine cleaning, clearing and tidying of the roof and its related systems.

Pay attention not only to roof shingles and flashing but other key components, such as eavestroughs, down spouts, installations (such as skylights, vents, chimneys, solar panels), and ventilation.

Here’s what we recommend:

Working from the ground, homeowners should where possible regularly clear debris from the roof, including leaves, branches, and other items that may be cluttering the surface. Your roofer may use a leaf blower to do this, being sure to blow the air down the roof (so he’s not blowing debris up and underneath the shingles).

To reduce the amount of debris that gathers, cut away vegetation that may be hanging over the roof. (Hire a contractor to cut away difficult or hard to reach areas.)