The roof on your home may need some repairs, and making sure that everything is watertight and ready for winter weather is essential. Hiring a roof repair company to inspect the roof and repair any issues it may have is important even if it is not leaking.

Roof Inspection

When you are hiring a roofing repair company to inspect your home's roof, you need to make sure that they check everything, not just the shingles. The roof repair company should look for damage to the shingles, check the flashing around chimneys and vents that come through the roof, and look at the overall condition of the roofing and structure.

If the shingles are loose, the roof structures under the shingles need inspecting to ensure that water has penetrated the roof. Water under the shingles will cause the wood to rot and trap mold and mildew inside the attic or crawlspace of your home, creating a health hazard, and if the rot goes unchecked, you could end up needing to replace the sub-roof to fix the damage. 

The flashing around the edges of the roof and around structures that come through the roof needs to be tight. If the roof flashing is loose, it can also allow water in, but a little roof sealer around the flashing edges is often all it takes to stop water leaks there. If the roof has been leaking around any of the flashing, the roof repair company may need to replace some of the wood under the flashing before sealing it, but they will know better once the inspection is complete.

Signs of Roof Damage

Water leaks are a pretty good indication that the roof is leaking, but there are other signs that the roof has a problem, and the roof repair company should pick up on them right away. Loose shingles are common, with shingles coming off and landing in the yard.

Shingles with curled edges or that are skewed on the roof indicate shingles that are loose and hanging on by limited fasteners and need securing or replacement. Both of these conditions are visible from the ground so if you see them, point them out to the roof repair contractor.

Moss or other vegetation growing on the roof is also an indication of a problem. For organic material to grow on the roof, water needs to be plentiful, and vegetation often grows over areas that are leaking or holding water and, in many cases, have mold growing under them. The roots can get into the roof and damage the shingles, the structure, and things inside the attic space. 

To learn more about this topic, speak with a professional who handles roofing repairs.