by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: April 23, 2009

Your roof keeps the horrors of the weather outside of your home. It also keeps the cool and warm air in. It is important to keep the roof in good condition so that you don't have problems down the road. Inspecting your roof is not difficult. You should do this at least twice a year to insure there is no damage. Checking the roof after a high windstorm is also important. You want to make sure that no damage was done by the offending weather. You should keep a notebook handy so that you can write down any problems as you find them.

Here are some tips on how to inspect your roof for damage:

Equipment Needed

You will need a ladder, awl, pad of paper and a pen.

From the Ground

First walk around the house to inspect the roof. Look for signs of sagging. Are there any deep valleys in the roofs construction? Also look for missing shingles, which will often be found laying on the ground after a storm.

Get the Ladder

It is now time to climb on top of the roof. Be careful that the roof is not rotted which could cause you to fall through. This obviously causes much more expensive repairs. You can now look more closely at any damage you spotted from the ground. You should look very closely at shaded areas and clear away any areas that have leaves or other objects laying about.

Signs

You should look for signs that the roof needs repaired by looking for sagging, curling, cracking, tears and texture loss of the shingles. Lower quality slate and clay tiles often crack or chip with age. If you have older wooden shingles you should look for moss that has grown heavily on it, wood rot or if the tile is lifting off of the roof. You might need to replace them if this is the case.

Other Things to Look For

You should also check the roof flashing, gutter, vents and underneath the roof overhangs. You should look for signs of rot and open joints. You can test portions of the roof for rot by using the awl. This will help you find out how deep the rotten wood goes.

If you do not know the history of any prior roof replacement, you can easily figure this out. You can simply peek under the top layer to see how many older layers are there. If there are more than three layers already in existence, the cost of replacing it will be a little higher because it will have to be stripped before a new roof can be put on. That means that the cost of disposal will bring the price even higher.

If you need to get a new roof, it might be worth the consideration to check out metal roofing. This type of roofing is great for several reasons. It will keep the cost of heating and air conditioning down, it's made from recyclable materials and its strong and durable. The cost of metal roofing is a little higher than traditional roofing but in the end can save you thousands of dollars. If the roof needs repaired, do not put it off. Letting small problems go now will cost you a lot more money later on.

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