Friday, April 25, 2014

Roof Repair Tips You Should Know

By Eloise Hewitt


In these times where money is hard to come by, our budget does not cover home maintenance, much less for roof repair. Since fees for a professional roofer tend to skyrocket, our best option is to bring out the handyman within us and do a bit of a DIY.

This is an excellent financial strategy, of course. But since most DIYs tend to bring more problems than solutions, one should always equip himself with the right tools and the correct information for the task to be successful. Well, now you can do roof repair marble falls tx the easy way which will yield excellent results.

But before you go change into your working man clothes, think of your safety first. Do repairs on a sunny day when the roof is dry to avoid slipping and falling. Use a sturdy ladder and safety ropes, and wear rubber sole shoes to avoid accidents.

Now that you have all your things ready, you can now start with a roof diagnosis. Find out what has been causing these pesky leaks. Clogged gutters, debris, old roofs and poor workmanship are some of the most common causes. You will have to tidy up the clogs and debris and swap old roof for new ones to stop leakage problems.

Now that you know the cause of your leaking roof, the next step is to ascertain the precise location of the leak. You can check your attic on a rainy day and mark the areas where leakage is present. In the absence of an attic, you can check common leak locations like boots, gaskets, shingles, flashing, ridge caps, valleys, and gutters. Stains on the ceiling also tell you where the problem area is.

Most roof leaks can be remedied easily. Small holes in flashing can be patched up with roofing cement. Damaged shingles can be answered by roofing cement and a some flashing. All you have to do is cut the flashing so that it is an inch narrower and four inches longer than the damaged shingle. Slip the flashing underneath, apply cement under the shingle and on top of the flashing, and press the tab down. Straighten curled shingles while you are at it, too.

Check the areas where the surfaces connect, such as vent pipes and chimneys. Look for any signs of damage in the caulking and remove. Clean the area and apply along the same line, using an applicator to work into the cracks.

If the problem area is the holes in your valley, you can cut patches that are two inches bigger than the holes. Be sure that the patches are of the same sheet metal as the valley, otherwise the patches and the part of the valley can corrode, leading to bigger difficulties. Put roofing cement on the holes and position the patches in place.

Of course, these tips only work on small roofing problems. Should you feel that the problem is beyond your capability, a lot of professional roofers can be found near you. You can also check with friends and relatives if they know any good repair services.




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