What is the life expectancy of your roof? What are the reasons that your roof might not last?
If you have a roof that is expected to have a long life and it is not holding up, you should first have it inspected to determine whether it was put on properly. This inspection will also be able to determine if the roofing product is prematurely failing due to manufacturing problems. This will let you rely on the product warranty.
Two other big reasons why your roof might not last is the sunshine and the rainfall. UV (ultra-violet) light has a real impact on the life of materials that are exposed to it. UV light strips the protective oils from the material. It cooks these products leaving them dried and brittle to any movement they encounter. Rainfall degrades products because of its soaking characteristics. If products are not able to dry off, their wet condition can have a devastating effect on them. Roofs are meant to shed water and not to be submerged in it. If your roof has areas that tend to create debris buildups and dams the water run-off, your roof will not hold up. Inspections to determine corrective actions can be of great assistance in this case.
Debris buildups and foliage growth that cause abrasion to the surfaces will both destroy the roofing material and accelerate the degradation. You should always keep your roof clean of debris buildups like pine needles and leaves if you want it to last. Tree branches can wear away the surface coatings and coverings that are extremely integral to the life of your roof itself.
In choosing the right roof and roofing material, you would be well served to drive around the area where you live and notice different roofs with different ages to find out how well they perform in your environment. If you like a few different types of roofs, then contact some of the manufacturers and listen to what they expect out of their roofing products in your area. We can speak with you in-depth about the different roofing products as well as provide you with the information you need from the manufacturers. If you like, we can make appointments for the manufacturers’ representatives to meet with all of us and lay out their recommendations for what you are wanting. This is a preliminary step to take that will provide you with important information that will be of a great benefit to you when you start dealing directly with a roofing contractor.
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