Roof Maintenance Basics

It's easy to under appreciate the hard work your roof does to keep you safe, dry, and warm. All too often, the only time people ever spare a thought for the wellbeing of their roofing is when the unthinkable happens and catastrophic damage occurs. Of course, sometimes this is unavoidable€”trees smashing through rafters, house fires, or other extreme conditions€”, but for the most part, a few simple roof maintenance basics can go a long way towards preventing problems from coming to fruition, or noticing those that are developing so that they can be dealt with in a timely manner.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about roof maintenance,along with some answers for your consideration.

How often should I inspect my roof?

The exact answer to this will vary depending on the conditions specific to your house, but a good rule of thumb is that an annual check is the very least you should be striving towards. In this check, you are looking to ensure that the roof has remained suitably weatherproof and that it is still able to withstand all of the conditions which may be present or on their way due to seasonal change.

Given the difficulty in assessing this suitability, it is often a good idea to inspect your roof during different weather conditions: although carrying out maintenance inspections just after a rainstorm might not be the most fun job to take part in, it can be an invaluable tool in the thorough assessment of your roof's integrity. You should be able to easily spot any water ingress as a result of defects in the structure. Checking your roof in wintery weather will allow you to more easily spot condensation within the roof space, so this is also a good idea.

What am I looking for?

One of the more obvious things you can look for is woodworm infestation. This leaves distinctive clues which you can easily spot without too much hassle. Beyond that, you can make use of binoculars to look from ground level at the roof and see if you can find any slipped or otherwise dislodged tiles. If any tiles or slates have indeed slipped, there may be a colour difference between the problematic ones and the ones which surround it. At the ridge line, you can check for missing ridge tiles, as well as gaps in mortar and flashing around the chimney area. Of course, sometimes the damage is made even more obvious by pieces of mortar or even bits of tile or slate lying on the ground around the roof, or even on the roof itself.

What do I need to know about moss?

The primary reason for moss growing on roofs is that the surface of roof tiles acts as a filter to the rainwater which lands on it, effectively maintaining a thin€”often largely invisible€”layer of dirt on its surface. Other factors such as dead leaves blowing onto the roof can also contribute to the amount of dirt on top of tiles, and it is then a trivial matter for spores and seeds of mosses, weeds, and lichens to be blown on top of the roof and, sooner or later, to grow in the fertile dirt covering of the tiles.

The roofs which are more prone to moss growth are those which are situated near to trees or other vegetation. Portions of the roof which are often in shade or are otherwise damp will also be particularly susceptible. Often, moss growth has little effect on your roof beyond the cosmetic impact it provides, however it can sometimes affect the drainage of water down valleys and guttering and should, in these instances, be removed to ensure that water-damage isn't done to the roof itself.

There are two main methods to remove moss: the toxic wash and copper wire treatment. A toxic wash is a relatively cheap method but, as the name implies, requires care when carrying it out. You simply apply the wash in dry weather, and that should help to remove most of the problem. One wash is usually sufficient, and always be careful that the chemical doesn't get into cultivated garden areas, as it can be damaging.

The copper wire treatment is a more permanent solution which involves trailing the wires across the roof surface. They are fixed below the front edge of tiles, either just in the affected areas, or throughout the roof, and work because the copper oxidises during rainfall, covering the roof with a thin, undetectable layer of copper salt which prevents renewed growth.

Of course, you can always opt just to scrape the moss from the roof, but this often damages tiles and can leave ugly marks behind it. It also offers absolutely nothing in the way of long-term protection, and as such is not recommended.

What do I do if my roof is leaking?

In the event that the mortar in your verges is leaking, it is a sure sign that the roof is in need of some maintenance. This can often be a sign of further damage, and so it is also well worth checking the remainder of the roof to see if this is an isolated problem, or to determine what else is going to require repair work.

The best way to treat the verge is to fix a dry verges system over the existing mortar-bedded verge. This is typically a straightforward process, and should not be a cause for concern for even the novice to attempt, providing that suitably safe access has been established, usually in the form of a scaffold. Much of the dry verge on the market can in fact be fitted retrospectively, without the need to remove existing verge tiles. In that case, it's a simple matter of fixing a timber batten to the gable wall, after which the new units can be fixed to this.

If you have noticed damp patches on the timbers, inspect the roof slope in daylight for tears in the felt or other visible damage. Dampness close to an abutment wall may indicate that the flashing has failed and will need replacement.