Tips to Maintain Your Roof

For most people, the roof is a no-go area. Routine inspections are not carried out, and the first sign of trouble is water dripping through a bedroom ceiling. However, for the homeowner this requires immediate attention.The hidden danger of a leaking roof is even worse because wet rot can take hold and ruin the roof timbers.

Despite the mystery, a pitched (sloping) roof is built on a simple principle. There is a series of parallel wooden triangles with rafters as the sides and joists at the base of each one. In all cases the triangles are joined by rows of horizontal battens which hold the roof covering. In traditional pitched roofs there is a stout ridge board joining all the triangles along the apex and in the modern trussed rafter roof there is no ridge.

Roofs do deteriorate with age and you should look at yours at least once a year. Look out from your neighbor's bedroom windows if you don't want to go up a ladder. Are the chimney pots sound? Are there any cracks in the flashing? Can any broken slates or tiles be seen? Is the wood around the roof in need of painting? If there is a problem, tackle it at once. For major jobs call in a specialist roofing company and make sure that it is a member of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors or a similar association.

Roof covering
The purpose of the roof covering is to prevent the entry of water and rapidly moving air despite the onslaught of heavy rain, driving snow and gales. It must last for many years despite bitter frosts, baking sun. Therefore, roof replacement every 20 years is soon enough!

Many materials are used such as; thatch, wooden shingles, plastic corrugated sheeting, wired glass and copper sheeting. However, by far the most popular coverings are slates and tiles for pitched roofs and bitumen felt for flat ones.

You will still find slate on older houses, it was the most popular roofing material in Victorian times. Take care when buying second-hand slates - avoid chipped edges, flaking surfaces and enlarged nail holes. Clay tiles took over the crown from slate in the last century, but since the war concrete has become the most important tiling material and it is less liable than clay to be damaged by frost.