Category: Roofing

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Why Get your Roof Cleaned Periodically?

Cleaning the roof is – or should be – part of regular maintenance, its importance being unquestionable: it prevents decay and very expensive repairs, increasing the lifespan of the roof and postponing the perspective of a roof replacement (which is quite intimidating for most homeowners).

Cleaning your roof can be a DIY project, or you can hire Thornton roofing specialists for this operation. It is not too complicated to do it yourself, but any attempt to do something about your roof on your own should not be taken lightly. This is unless you are very skilled, experienced and have the right tools, products and equipment for the job.

Thornton roofing pros can clean your roof

Let’s take a look at some things you must consider:

  • The cleaning products you are going to use must be safe for your type of roof. Look for trusty suppliers, who offer multiple formulas to choose from, created for different roof surfaces. You should also ask about preventative solutions, because reliable suppliers often offer these too.
  • Set aside enough time for doing the roof cleaning properly. With the right chemicals and procedures, you can do a good job and avoid damaging your shingles.
  • Make sure you protect the vegetation around the house, or opt for eco-friendly cleaning solutions, to prevent ruining your landscape.

If you still question the importance of roof cleaning, you should know that roof algae and debris accumulated in the gutters represent more than aesthetic concerns. Having algae on your beautiful ceramic shingles is surely unattractive, but you should be concerned most of all about its damaging potential. Algae are living things that spread, feed off of your shingles and also maintain moisture between them, which rushes the deterioration of the roof. Consequently, you will get progressively less protection, and the lifespan of the roof will be shortened.

On the other hand, roof debris tend to accumulate in the pluvial system, and when gutter and downspouts get clogged, rain water will infiltrate on the exterior walls and in the basement, causing from aesthetic to structural damage.

The perspective to replace your roof too soon is not great at all, especially considering the costs of such and investment and everything else involved in such a project. So, no, roof cleaning is not money spent in vain, as some people tend to believe.

Cleaning the roof involves two main methods:

  • Pressure washing
  • Chemical Cleaning (sometimes called Soft Washing)

Both of them have pros and cons. Pressure washing is better for concrete or metal roof, because the potential to cause damage is very low, compared to ceramic shingles that may be damaged, if the cleaning device is set on high pressure. On the other hand, some chemicals can be harmful to different materials and also cause problems with your landscape, but can be also very effective if you find the right solutions and apply them correctly.

If you hire Thornton roofing professionals to clean your roof, be selective and make sure they can guarantee that your roof and property will remain 100% intact.

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Do I Need A Roofer If I Am Missing a Few Shingles?

roof repair northern Virginia

Repairing the roof is important and requires technical skills that not all people possess. That is why it would be best to leave this project in the hands of a professional Virginia contractor. However, skilled and experience owners can often work too on small scale repairs. For example, replacing a few missing shingles is not so complicated.

You may notice missing shingles after a storm or other aggressive weather phenomena and they must be quickly replaced, to avoid water infiltrations and other problems that they may generate. The method you will use depends on the type of roofing material.

Typically, you must start with purchasing new shingles. Whether you already have a few unused shingles or you purchase new ones, you must make sure their color is not so different from those on the roof, otherwise they will ruin its aspect. Shingles installed on the roof are constantly exposed to the elements, so their color typically fades after a while, so they will look different from unused shingles, kept in a place where they are protected from weather. The best thing is to take out a shingle from the roof and compare it with the replacement shingles, to pick up the best match. Don`t forget about purchasing adhesive and nails too!

Once you have the right replacement shingles and tools you need, you must also use the proper safety precautions before climbing the roof and start working. This means wearing and using protective equipment.

The first step is to check the damaged area. Look for potential damage underneath and also check the surrounding shingles. Some of them may be curled or cracked, in which case you should remove and replace them too.

Use a pry-bar and loose any exposed nails and adhesive. Once the area is clean, start placing new shingles in the same position as those that are missing, then use proper adhesive and new nails to secure them. You can use the other shingles existing on the roof as a guide.

Once you finished replacing the missing shingles, you can take advantage of the fact that that you are on the roof and secure other loose shingles or accessories, to avoid them becoming problematic in the future. In most cases, all you need to do is sticking some adhesive underneath them and re-secure them. If you keep an eye on your roof regularly and replace missing shingles, or rescue loose or weathered shingles, you will increase the lifespan of your roof and reduce bigger and more expensive problems.

However, contacting a roof repair northern Virginia roofer to do the necessary repairs remains the best thing to do if you want to avoid accidents and mistakes. Performing DIY operations may cause unintentional damage that can void warranties and make you unable to use you insurance policy, so it is quite a big risk to take. Think carefully before starting such a project and make sure you know what you are doing. Most people who attempt to perform DIY roof repairs want to save the money they would pay for professional service, but in many cases they end up paying more for the damage they cause.