Roof is considered as a property’s first line of defense against the elements. As it is a first line of defense, it surely has goes through many wear and tear. Therefore, it is important to do a yearly visual inspection to your roof as part of the maintenance routine. By doing so, you can avoid and take early action to the small problems before they become big. Here are some checklist you can go through when inspecting your roof based on the roof type:

Metal Roof

Metal roof usually made up of steel, copper, aluminum, or galvanized iron. Average lifespan of a metal roof are around 50 years. you can determine the age of the roof by looking at the perforations, pits, rust, or corrosion. Inspect also the creases, corners, and joints for loose, dried out, or stripping caulk or other crease material. These are the part of the metal roof you can do inspection to see if they need roof repair.

Asphalt Roofing

Surface of the asphalt roofing are granular. Asphalt shingles become weak and vulnerable from the sun and other elements when they are aging. This can cause the granules to detach from the shingles. Check the spots that look naked where all the granules have detached and washed away. You can also inspect missing, torn, or warped shingles. If there are curling or rising shingles, it is a sign they need roof replacement. You can also look for the indentations or punctures from hail damage.

Wooden Shingles/Shakes

Compared to other type of the roof, wooden shingles are quite vulnerable and need thorough inspection. You can inspect this type of roof using ladder, binoculars or drone camera. Wooden shakes are part by hand, and wood shingles sawed and tightened. Weather can gradually deteriorate wood shingles over the time. See if there are missing rotted, warped, or broken shingles that needs roof repair. If a third or more of these roofs damaged, the whole roof needs replacement.

Slate/Clay Tile Roof

The most common tile roof materials are concrete tile, clay or terracotta tile, and composite or light weight tiles. Out of them, the most common tile are concrete tiles. You can recognize these roof by the thickness and absence of shading on the base or underside of the tiles. Average lifespan of these tile are around 75 years. However, they may have a leakage problem sooner that need roof repair depending on the quality of the workmanship. These tiles can be attached using nails, construction adhesives, battens, screws, foam, or a combination of fasteners. Slate and clay tile designated to last long as long as structure if they are properly care. However, these type of tile can be easily damage by hail, ice, or by walking on them. To avoid walking on them when inspecting use binocular or drone camera to look for any missing tiles.