Metal roofs can look very attractive and are a very sturdy and reliable kind of roof to have. However, that’s not to say that you can simply install a metal roof and then leave it be. You do actually have to maintain your metal roof, and there can actually be quite a lot involved in this process all in all.
In this post, we are going to take you through the essentials that you will need to know around maintaining a metal roof. You should find that it is relatively straightforward to understand, and that you will be able to keep your metal roof in the best possible condition easily enough, albeit perhaps with a little help. In any case, it’s useful to know if you do indeed have a metal roof on your home.
Why Maintain a Metal Roof?
First though, you might be wondering why it’s really necessary to maintain a metal roof, and whether it’s actually something you particularly need to worry about or not. The fact is, it is an important thing to do if you want to make sure that your metal roof is going to last a long time, and it’s something that you should definitely make sure you are thinking about. As long as you are caring for it, you are going to find that it lasts better, but also that it looks better, and that obviously improves the look of your home in general too.
So maintaining a metal roof helps aesthetically, but it also means it is going to cost you less over time. That’s something that is clearly really important to most of us, and you’ll find it does come into play here. You can also avoid small problems getting bigger and costing more, and you should find that you are going to be so much happier with your home on the whole.
Finally, maintaining a metal roof will ensure that you are limiting the damage to the rest of the home, which is really important to consider.
Surface Maintenance Essentials
So getting into the maintenance side of things, what are some of the essential surface maintenance acts that you should try to do? There are a few, and in many respects these are some of the most important of all, because you will find that they have the biggest impact on the appearance of the roof as well as how well it is likely to last. This is any kind of maintenance you can do with a thorough inspection of the roof from outside, and it’s going to be the most common kind of maintenance on your roof that you carry out.
Clearing Gutters
This is one of the main things you will find yourself doing, and you might not even consider it part of maintaining your roof at first. However, if you are not clearing out your gutters, then you are going to find that you struggle to keep the roof in the best condition. Debris will build up over time and you will be in a situation where your roof might start to rust in spots or develop other similar problems. So it is actually very important that you are clearing out the gutters of any debris as often as necessary.
Clean Stains, Mildew and Dirt
Your metal roof may get some surface stains, mildew and dirt on it from time to time. While it might not seem like this is too much of a problem, if you don’t do anything about it the problem could worsen, and you could find yourself with holes in your roof caused by rust and other such issues. So it’s really important to make sure that you are cleaning the stains, mildew and dirt from the roof regularly. It’s a simple job that doesn’t take long, and yet it is vital in keeping your roof in tip-top condition.
Remove Other Debris
There may be other kinds of debris over your roof too, not just in the gutters but any other nooks and crannies that there might be – for instance, where one roof meets another or where you have the housing for a chimney. You might have leaves and other debris building up there, and again it’s really important that you are going to clear that out as soon as possible. Debris can look unappealing and can also make the roof dent or become scratched.
Keep Other Metals Off The Roof
It’s really important that no other metals are touching the roof at all. This is not something that a lot of people realize, but it is essential if you want to make sure that you are keeping your roof in the best possible condition. Why? Well, when there is other metal touching your metal roof, the two can interact chemically in a way that could cause corrosion and rust, and lead to the further degradation of the roof itself. So as unlikely as it might seem that metals could be touching your roof, you need to keep on top of this.
Structural Maintenance
Those are the main things you’ll need to do, but from time to time there might also be structural maintenance tasks that you need to carry out, and these are really important for you to be aware of too. These can include checking the fasteners and screws and replacing or screwing them in better, checking whether any panels are loose and fixing as appropriate, and checking the flashing to see whether that might need work on it too.
However, much of that structural maintenance is often best carried out by a professional roofer, so it might be that you don’t want to do it yourself at all. In any case, make sure that you are having your metal roof cared for in the right way – this will really bring the roof to life.