Your roof is one of your home’s most essential elements. Roofing helps ensure a home remains properly insulated, protects the interior from the elements, and contributes to curb appeal (which can itself contribute to your home’s value).
Keeping your roof in the best shape possible is essential. This involves not only maintaining it yourself but also scheduling roof repair service as soon as you notice signs of damage.
However, it’s not always immediately easy to tell when a roof is in need of repairs. Some signs of damage are easy to overlook. Unfortunately, if you don’t address minor problems as soon as possible, they can lead to major (and costly) headaches in the future.
You don’t have to let that happen! You simply need to familiarize yourself with signs of roof damage that you could easily miss. They include the following:
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Black Streaks
True, black streaks on your roofing may not be the type of problem you don’t notice. That said, you might nevertheless not realize that black streaks aren’t just ugly. They’re typically signs that your roof is at risk of avoidable damage.
Black streaks indicate roof algae has begun to spread. This organism can eat away at shingles slowly but steadily. Thus, if you see black streaks throughout your roof, you should hire pros to take a closer look. It may be necessary to repair or replace the affected sections.
High Energy Bills
The damage to your shingles that roof algae and similar hazards can cause doesn’t always take the form of large, easy-to-spot gaps. However, even damage that you can’t easily see from ground level can still have a major impact on whether your home is thoroughly insulated.
When your home isn’t insulated, you may find yourself running your heating or cooling equipment more frequently, without necessarily realizing you’re doing so. You’re simply adjusting the thermostat when you’re uncomfortable without taking stock of the fact that you usually don’t have to do so as often as you have been lately.
The first time you notice a problem may be when you receive a surprising energy bill. If your energy bills have been higher than expected lately, think about whether it may be because you’re running your HVAC equipment more often than is normal. If so, roof damage may be to blame.
HVAC Failure
Running your heating and cooling equipment excessively doesn’t just result in high energy bills. It can also put the equipment through more wear-and-tear than it’s built for. If your heating and cooling equipment seems to be breaking down, making surprising noises, or otherwise indicating signs of premature failure, this might also mean your roofing is no longer insulating your home as it should.
Mold Growth or Water Damage
There are several ways water can leak into your home from outside. Often, it leaks in through small gaps in damaged roofing.
This will obviously put interior areas of your home at risk of water damage. It can also create moist areas where mold may be more likely to grow and thrive. If problems like water damage or mold in your home are the result of a damaged roof, be aware that they’ll only continue to get worse until you schedule much needed roof repair. As such, scheduling roof repair sooner rather than later will actually help you save a lot of money in the long run.
That’s important to remember! The cost of roof repair service often pales in comparison to the cost of letting a damaged roof go unaddressed. Luckily, if you know to keep an eye out for these warning signs, you’ll be far less likely to accidentally ignore serious issues.