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San Diego Roofing Contractor Education Platform

Month: March 2021

Roof Puncture Causes & Preventive Actions

Carmen Lawson

A roof puncture is a serious roofing problem that should be treated immediately as they leave the roof exposed to leakage, which can damage the home’s interior.

Common Culprits Of Roof Punctures

Roof Punctures can be a result of several problems, but these are the most frequent ones:

Walk Traffic

You will probably ruin or puncture your roofing if you keep walking over it. The shingles won’t be able to tolerate your weight and they may shatter or damage the roof membrane. The puncture or damage will be more apparent if you or others walk on the roof without knowing which sensitive spots to avoid. An old and outworn roof also tends to encounter a puncture more than a new roof installation.

Tree Damage

Roof punctures can also emerge when tree limbs or entire trees hit the roof’s surface. For instance, a decaying tree log may finally free space and push the tree to fall on your roof. The heavier these cracked tree logs are, the biggest the damage will be.

Roof Set-Ups

If you install anything heavy on your roof, it may also encounter punctures. However, don’t proceed with installation unless you can do so carefully. Adding media gadgets, T.V antennas, and rooftop HVAC systems can easily tear down the roof.

The damage emerges when the unit installed doesn’t cover the region around the installations successfully. It can also develop when there are extra holes drilled on the roof and the holes are not connected properly.

Random Tool Falls

Anyone who works on your roof with tools and extras may expose your roof to damage, especially you or an amateur. You may, for example, drop a hammer or other heavy tool accidentally and puncture the roof. These mishaps are most common by amateur and unskilled installers who don’t have the proper systems to organize and protect their tools e.g. bags or gearboxes.

Animals & Pests

Some kinds of animals enjoy walking around rooftops, leading to potential roof damage. Birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other small animals may feed on the weaker spots of the roof and tear the outer roof layer. Roofs with existing damage are also more exposed to wildlife damage since the damaged spots are often easy targets for the animals to exploit.

Heavy Winds

Heavy winds may lead to roof punctures in several ways. For instance, heavy winds may raise or pull off areas of the roof. Heavy winds may also accumulate thick debris on the roof and lead to punctures.

Hailstorms

Hailstorms may lead to heavy punctures on your roof if the storm is heavy enough. The shape, size, density, and speed of the hailstones together with your roof’s age are some important considerations to figure out how much damage the hailstones may inflict.

How To Stop Roof Punctures

Some culprits of roof punctures e.g hailstones are hard to stop. However, the following preventive actions will help stop most types of roof punctures:

  • Avoid any unnecessary feet traffic on the roof
  • Make sure that only qualified installers have access to your roof
  • Keep your roof well-maintained to stop animals from finding weak or ruined spots to damage further.
  • Trim trees near your roof and get rid of weak trees so that they don’t hit the roof
  • Shield roof installation units e.g. antennas to stop heavy winds from tearing them off.

A properly maintained roof is less prone to encounter punctures compared to a badly maintained one. Thus, arrange a maintenance session for your roof if you haven’t done so already.

Let’s hope that the above preventive actions will help you stop any roof punctures. We can take over your roof’s maintenance and minimize the likelihood of damage. We can also help you fix any existing punctures on your roof that need treatment.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Shingle Roofing 

Carmen Lawson

There are several roofing choices nowadays, however shingle roofs remain the No.1 choice among homeowners. The reasons why they are so popular are many–from the fairly low cost of the material to its good appearance. Let’s now examine the advantages and disadvantages of shingle roofing.

The Good Stuff

They are affordable

Asphalt shingles as roof materials are fairly cost-efficient and they are a big reason why they are so commonly used. Provided they are installed properly, asphalt shingles may live up to 17 years–this is not so long compared to other roofing materials like clay tiles and metals, however, their cost-efficiency overpowers long-lasting protection.

Efficiency

While Shingles may not be as long-lasting as other roofing products, tar shingles may offer considerable protection. As they come at a fairly low cost and offer satisfactory protection, many homeowners deem them as a cost-efficient choice.

Style & Fit

A nice-looking roof adds an attractive touch to your house and that is certainly an important consideration when you intend to sell your home in the future. One of the pros of getting tar shingles is that they are externally moldable and come in several styles to suit your home’s style: 3-tab, laminated or premium versions. Furthermore, asphalt shingles come in various colors as well with black and brown being the most commonly picked colors, but you may also go for blue, green, or red color. This makes tar shingles incredibly versatile and able to match various home styles without looking weird.

Easy Set-Up

Tar shingles are more lightweight compared to other roofing products and they are also easy to train and install afterward. Additionally, they require less preparation work and no special equipment is necessary, making the set-up much easier than other roofing products.

Separate Shingles May Be Replaced

A rightly installed and solid shingle roof can last for several years to come, but it can deteriorate after some time due to chronic wear-and-tear. Even if the shingles damaged are one or two, replacing these is not hard at all.

Drawbacks of Shingle Roofing

High vulnerability to wind

Shingle roofs are more susceptible to wind uplifts, which can slide them off and leave them exposed to water leaks.

They are not recommended in freezing climates

Shingles perform their best when they are installed in warmer climates as opposed to snowy and freezing climates. Heavy and snowy conditions may result in cracking the shingles during their installation.

Development of Mildew Is A Common Sign In Shingle Roofs

If the shingle roof is not maintained properly, mildew can easily grow on the shingles and expand in shielded roof spots. To prevent this from happening, you have to get your roof nice and clean occasionally.

They are not ecological

Tar shingles are a partially solid petroleum by-product and thus they are not an ecological roofing choice. They also lead to high energy waste and greenhouse gas production during their making. Other roofing materials are more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.