Home Maintenance: 10 roofing improvement tips

Home improvements increase your home enjoyment, but they also affect your home’s value; roofing repairs can yield a large return on investment at resale (some estimate between 50 to 80%) and a good, solid roof is so much better than a leaking one! These tips will help you plan for your roofing improvement needs with a focus both on enjoyment and on resale value:

  • Function – Recognize a quality roof is vital to protect your home against all weathers, to draw water away from your home’s structure and to help to reduce energy costs
  • Repair – Maintain your roof and replace damaged flashing and shingles or individual sections of metal roofing, repairing shallow surface corrosion by priming and painting
  • Replace – Choose replacement when there is widespread damage and deterioration, keeping in mind multiple, costly repairs can quickly outstrip replacement costs
  • Structure – Repair your roof’s structure if it visibly sags or if expert inspection reveals structural issues as these can continue to escalate into severe structural damage
  • Materials – Select durable, high quality roofing materials appropriate to your home’s style and sufficiently lightweight enough for your roof’s structure to support
  • Flashing – Ensure a quality flashing material is properly installed and caulked and inspect it regularly as this is the most common source of leaks
  • Insulate – Take the opportunity to increase attic insulation and seal air leaks between the living space and the attic to improve your roof’s life span and performance
  • Ventilate – Increase attic ventilation, where required, to prevent rot and improve longevity and energy efficiency, venting exhaust outside, not into the attic
  • Installation – Hire a reputable roofer as your roof, regardless of the quality of materials used, will only perform as good as the professional who installed it
  • Maintain – Clear your roof of debris and perform a twice annual inspection to make repairs, eradicate moss and mould, remove rust and keep the eaves and drains clear

You should also make sure to interview at least three roofing contractors, ensuring they are licensed, insured and agreeable to obtaining the required permits.

Comments

  1. Awesome tips! We just moved into a pretty old house and you can tell the roof hasn’t had too great of an upkeep. We’re looking into places that do roofing in Victoria and then once it’s fixed we’ll definitely be using these tips to keep it up! Thanks! 🙂

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