It’s that time of the year again. Once Memorial Day ends, the daily ritual of showers and bright sun begin. Many people ignore their roof until it’s too late. Often times, roof damage occurs during the summer but goes unnoticed until the first rain storm of the season. And we see our share of severe weather in Omaha, Nebraska including summer heat and humidity, thunder and lightning, heavy winds and rain, hail storms, and tornadoes. But it’s never too late to get your home properly inspected to avoid costly roof repairs in the future. Here top 4 most extreme types of summer roof damage that can happen.
1) Severe Storms
When the sun is shining, we can quickly forget how damaging storms can be. The heavy rain and harsh humidity can eventually wear away the tiles, shingles, and structure of your home’s most important protective barrier. Hot summer weather causes roof deterioration, leading to leaks and failures across your rooftop. If your roof has been damaged, you understand the frustration of water dripping into your living room and causing additional problems, such as dangerous mold growth. Even minor roof damage can cause your energy bill to skyrocket.
2) Extreme Heat and humidity
The sun’s harmful rays such as IR radiation and UV light is also to blame for roof damage. These two elements combined can cause severe damage to a roof that does not have proper protection from the Sun. Luckily, roof coatings with high reflectivity is an excellent way to protect your roof against these natural elements. IR radiation causes temperature damage to your roof by fluctuating temperature to extremes. UV light dries the roof surface out, causing cracks and alligatoring. Roof coating is similar to sunblock. Roof coatings protect your roof from IR and UV damage, acting very much like sunblock, but lasting 10 years before needing a new application.
3) Hail
During severe storms asphalt shingles can be seriously damaged and require repair or replacement. On asphalt roofs, hail damage looks like a dark spot, or bruise, where the roofing granules have been knocked away. In some cases you may find holes, cracking, or missing shingles on roofs with hail or storm damage. You may have split seams and torn or missing shingles. This may result in leaking and serious water damage, which can lead to mold formation and wood rot, which can compromise the structural integrity of your roof causing it to collapse.
4) High Winds
Most roof shingles carry a wind resistance rating to help protect against high winds. Specialty shingles may be rated much higher. While laboratory tests may not predict actual performance in a storm, a higher rated shingle will likely perform better than a lower rated one. However, most people don’t know about this rating until significant winds cause shingles to blow off the roof deck. Missing shingles can lead to leaks and other interior damage. Other wind damage may not be easy to see, especially if the adhesive seal that provides a water-shedding surface is broken.
Many people are handy around the house and good with tools. But when it comes to roof repair, you want hire a professional who can get the job done correctly and safely. A professional roofer can identify potential problems most people would never spot. With the rainy season already here, it’s extremely important to get your roof inspected immediately. Even if you don’t notice any leaks or problems, hiring a professional to check for hail damage or other summer damage is always a good idea. As the Omaha metro’s most reputable roofing company, Husker Siding, Windows, and Roofing can provide a variety of solutions to make sure your roof is in great shape. Our services include:
Roof inspection
Roof restoration
Roof coatings
Waterproofing
Assistance with insurance process
While there’s no way to stop a summer storm from coming, you can call us for an inspection immediately after severe weather such as sweltering heat or storm damage. Call us today and you’ll weather the summer just fine with a little help from your friends at Husker Siding, Windows, and Roofing.