Get to Know Your Roof to Prevent and Fix Roof Leaks

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Dana

If you are a homeowner, then you are likely among the majority of people who fail to provide regular maintenance to their roofs until you find a leak. The problem with this approach is that you will end up spending much more time, money and labor fixing your roof than had you take preventative maintenance measures in the first place.

Thus, it is important to have a general understanding as to the causes of roof leaks so that you can be proactive and prevent it from happening, or at least lessen the impact. Ultimately, by acting on the front end, you save yourself a lot of headaches and money.

To gain an understanding about how roof leaks develop, you must first learn about roofs, including how they are constructed, the materials that are used and how they are designed. One of the most common roof types is the built up asphalt roof, which is constructed by bonding together three or four layers of asphalt sheeting using tar.

The topmost sheet of asphalt is typically lined on the outside with a fine mineral granule which is affixed during the manufacture of this sheet layer. This mineral acts as a weather barrier, providing protection to the top asphalt layer.

A built up asphalt roof can be expected to last from about eight to ten years. However, those with this type of roof must perform regular maintenance by resealing with plasticized cold asphalt at any area of rooftop penetrations, for example, vents, pipes, or skylights.

An issue which arises with these resealing maintenance efforts is that the material used tends to lose its gas component into the atmosphere within just a few years, leaving a brittle, non-flexible material that into which water can seep.

And when water or moisture starts to invade this area, the mineral barrier on the top layer of the roof begins to come off, thereby exposing the asphalt roof underneath to the sun’s UV rays, as well as to rain and other poor weather. All of this resultant wear and tear on your roof decreases its lifespan, and homeowners begin to finally notice problems with their roofs.

Surely you do not want to end up in this situation. So what can you do so that this doesn’t happen to you? One thing you can and should do is conduct an inspection (either yourself or hire a professional) of your roof on an annual basis. In addition, apply a non-petroleum based protective to your roof every 12 to 18 months. Doing so will help you avoid the necessity for major repairs on an emergency basis.

If it is too late and your roof has already experienced a leak that required major repairs, it may be time to consider options such as a durable and energy-efficient solar reflective roof coating system. Such roof coating systems are great at saving you money and do not require anywhere near as much maintenance for your roof.