Fixing Roof Damage from Summer Storms
Your roof has a crucial job to perform, protecting your home from the elements twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This task becomes even more vital during bad storms, and especially hurricanes.
It’s important to know what happens to a roof during a storm, so you can be prepared for the worst and take proactive steps to minimize any potential damage. If severe weather has left your home in need of storm damage roof repair Augusta Ga, or hurricane damage roof repair in Charleston SC, be sure and contact experienced roofers like the dedicated professionals at Southpaw Roofing as soon as possible.
WIND DAMAGE TO YOUR ROOF
The first thing we think of when we hear the word “hurricane” is strong winds, and with good reason. For a tropical storm to be designated a hurricane, it must produce sustained winds of seventy-four miles per hour or more. However, powerful hurricanes have been known to generate gusts up to one-hundred-fifty miles per hour and higher.
Hurricane-force winds can inflict a lot of damage on your roof. Often high, sustained winds will loosen and remove roofing tiles. In some cases, hurricane winds have even blown the roofing decks completely off of houses.
Strong winds can also rip the gutters from your roof, causing damage where they were attached.
Another danger of hurricane-force winds is the potential for falling tree limbs. A heavy branch that’s fallen from a significant height has the potential to do catastrophic damage to your roof.
Hurricane and summer storm winds can do significant harm to your roof, but you can take preventative measures to help minimize roof storm damage. For example, be sure to trim any tree limbs that extend over your house. You can also have a roofer install roof tie-downs or hurricane clips. Doing so will not only keep your roof safer, it may even save you money on your homeowner’s insurance premium.
HEAVY RAIN ROOF DAMAGE
Along with heavy winds, hurricanes often bring torrential rains. Ordinarily, a downpour would be no problem for your roof to handle, but it can become a real problem when coupled with hurricane-force winds.
Rain can penetrate your roof through missing tiles, leaks, and connectors that have come loose to flood your attic. Water damage can be costly to repair and only gets worse over time if left untreated. Floods can also facilitate the growth of harmful toxic mold if all affected areas are not correctly restored.
HAIL TO ROOFS
Though less common an occurrence than torrential rains, hurricanes often produce hail. Depending on the size of the stones, this can do a great deal of damage to your storm-battered roof, especially when combined with heavy wind and rain.
LIGHTNING
The odds of your roof being hit by a bolt of lightning during a hurricane are slim, to be sure, but it does happen, and when it does, the results can be catastrophic. A strong enough lighting strike can puncture your roof and damage several floors of your home.
A direct strike isn’t the only way lightning can cause roof storm damage, though, nor is it the most likely. Lightning hitting nearby trees and causing limbs to fall on your roof is the greater concern.
HIGH TEMPERATURES
Hurricanes and summer storms aren’t the only things that can affect your roof during hurricane season. Excessive heat, over time, can do lasting damage to your roof.
Sustained high temperatures can result in swollen roofing materials and cracked shingles, both of which lead to other problems. For example, broken shingles and tiles can quickly become leaks, and swollen roofing can affect your home’s ventilation, causing it to become uncomfortably warm.
PREVENTION
Few of us fully understand what happens to a roof during a storm or how that damage can worsen over time or during the next weather event. Luckily, roofing professionals like the experts at Southpaw Roofing do more than repair storm damaged roofs; they can perform a professional inspection of your roof so you know what to expect during the next storm and what, if any, repairs need to be made.
Waiting to repair storm damaged roofs is a mistake, as some damage may not be evident until the next time it rains heavily. Instead, it’s far better to be proactive and fix minor problems before they become larger, more costly ones.
If you find yourself in need of storm damage roof repair Augusta GA, or Hurricane damage roof repair Charleston SC, call the pros at Southpaw roofing, or visit us online at www.southpawroofing.com.
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