Found a Shingle in Your Landscaping? You Should Probably Have that Checked Out!

May 15, 2014

GAF RoofingYour yard or flower gardens aren’t exactly where you’d expect to find a shingle – unless you’ve had a particularly bad winter or storm season. Roofing materials serve your home better from the roof, not as landscape materials. More importantly, and on a more serious note, a missing shingle on your roof compromises the overall integrity of your roof and may lead to leaks and damage.

Winter 2013 was particularly rough on homes on the east coast, so please, perform a roof inspection of your own to make sure things are in order. If you aren’t sure what to look for, call us here at Sundance Homes, LLC and we’ll take a look at it for you. Your consultation is free, so what do you have to lose? I promise we won’t bug you with sales notices and other annoying things.

How to Inspect Your Roof

Using your ladder, climb to the roof without getting onto it at first. Your vantage point should be one that allows you to see the perfectly straight lines on the roof. Inspect your shingles as an overall unit. Do they still have a nice layer of asphalt, or do you see spots where the asphalt has come off? Bare spots indicate damage, and should be looked at more carefully. Bare spots also mean the area beneath the shingle could be taking on water damage. We probably don’t need to discuss how water damage affects your roof and your home’s structural stability.

Roof Repair

Depending on damages done, you may not need an entirely new roof, even if you find one of your shingles in the flower garden. You may just need a quick patch and repair near the eve as long as the rest of your roof hasn’t been compromised.

Inspect Your Roof Often

Home inspections are recommended on a one-to-three year schedule. Your roof really needs to be inspected after each season has taken its toll. Winter snow and ice storms slowly chip away at the asphalt that protects your shingles. Heavy wind can break shingles and carry them away entirely, which is likely what happened when you found that shingle in the flower garden. Spring and summer rain storms pose a threat as well, and here in the Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania area, we are at risk of the occasional hurricane.

Conclusion

Now that we know how important a roof inspection is when you find a shingle lying on the ground, let’s talk about who should perform the inspection. A regular inspection each season can easily be done on your own. There’s no real reason to hire an inspector at the end of each season. Any time you see damage, contact a general contractor with roofing experience to come out and inspect the roof. And once every year or two (or three), hire a home inspector to make sure everything is working properly from top to bottom. The best defense against potential problems is early detection of things that create those problems.

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