Exterior home maintenance is a year-round job, but it’s essential to protect your home from damage. If you want to get the best life out of your roofing and siding, follow these seasonal tips:
Spring: Trim landscaping to avoid storm damage
As the snow melts and the weather becomes nice, spring is the perfect season to do some outdoor landscaping that will help prevent storm damage. While you can’t avoid hail damage, you can prevent heavy winds brought on by storms from taking down trees and branches that can damage your roof and siding, rip off gutters and break through windows.
If it looks like a branch is hanging too low, is hovering over your roof, or is within striking distance of your house should it fall, it’s best to have it removed before it can damage your home.
Spring is also the perfect time to clean and paint the exterior of your home. It’s important to clean moss and mold off the side of your home, especially if you have wood siding. Painting or staining is also required to protect your home from the elements. Spring is the perfect time to paint because the best conditions for paint to adhere to a surface are mild temperatures (between 50 and 85 degrees) and humidity (40-70%).
Summer: Protecting from the High Heat
Your roof is not immune to the summer heat, which is why it’s important to take steps to allow heat to escape from your home. Insulation and ventilation of your attic, particularity your soffit vents, will help extend the life of your roof. When excess heat becomes trapped in your attic, it can cause the shingles to warp and deteriorate from within. If you do not give hot air a proper means of ventilation, you will notice significant wear on your roof over the years.
Always remember that the temperature inside your attic can be 50-60% higher than outside. A 90-degree day with no clouds means the temperature in your attic can be up to 144 degrees.
Fall: maintenance and preparation for the winter
Besides raking like crazy, the fall season is the perfect time to clean your gutters. Not only can leaves clog your downspouts, but there are plenty of other objects (sticks, dirt, etc.) that can become lodged up there and cause gutters to overflow. If you do not clean your gutters out by winter, there is a strong possibility that ice dams can form and damage your roof.
Winter: snow removal is key
The greatest threats to your roof in the winter are ice dams and snow accumulation. Snow can be heavy, especially when wet, and larges accumulations of snow can put undue stress on a roof. When combined with ice dams, which prevent water from draining off your roof, this can cause damage to and eventual leaks in your roof.
The best way to maintain the health of your roof during the winter is make sure that excessive amounts of snow are cleared off your roof and any ice dams are removed. If you need to, you can contact a professional company for snow and ice removal services.
With proper maintenance all year round, you can help keep the exterior of your home in good order. If damage does occur, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Schmidt Roofing for repairs or replacement.
