Shingles, Metal, Tiles, and Shake: How to Maintain Different Styles Of Roofs
As a homeowner, your roof is an essential part of the structure of your home. When it’s properly maintained, it will last for decades. Your roof’s maintenance needs will be highly dependent on the specific material that your roof is made of.
Shingles
Maintaining a shingle roof is fairly easy to do, which is one of the biggest reasons that shingles are the most popular roofing material. As a homeowner, you’ll need to regularly clean any debris, such as leaves and moss, off your roof. Debris is susceptible to holding moisture, which can deteriorate your roof much faster. When it comes to debris like algae and moss, a quick pressure cleaning will do the job.
Metal
Metal is also fairly easy to maintain, but it is more costly to do so. As a homeowner, you’ll need to regularly clean off debris and ensure no tree branches rub against the metal. This could cause damage to the finish of the roof. Metal roofing needs to be repainted every 10 years. This new layer of paint helps to ensure a protective layering for the metal.
Tile
Tile tends to be highly susceptible to murky algae growth. This can make your tiles start to look green around their edges. To prevent algae growth on your tile roof, you should clean your roof once to twice per year. Depending on the specific material that tiles are made out of, you’ll want to take precautions during the cleaning process. Most pressure washers can be safely used to clean off any algae growth and excess debris.
Shake
The look of freshly installed cedar shakes is hard to beat. However, as the years go by, you’ll notice that your cedar will start to weather naturally. Instead of being a warm, vibrant color, your roofing shakes turn into a silver-grey color. What most homeowners don’t realize is that they can easily restore the original look of shakes with proper cleaning. Unfortunately, cedar shingles tend to become extremely brittle over time. It’s usually best to hire a professional to do the cleaning as it must be done without physically standing on the roof.
As you’ve learned, there are many different styles of roofing material that you can have installed on your home. Shingles, metal, tiles, and shakes are just the most popularly used. To ensure that your roofing material lives throughout its intended lifespan, you must follow the tips above for properly maintaining it.