Everyone knows that serious damage to the home must be repaired immediately. You would no more ignore a hole in your roof than you could ignore a hole in your wall. Ever external element of the home is designed to protect the inside from unwanted weather. The windows hold onto AC in the summer and the roof holds in heat in the winter. Impact damage must be repaired and surface damage must be refinished before your home is ready to keep out the weather once again. From blocking UV lights to preventing leaks and invasion of cold precipitation, your home must remain strong externally to remain comfortable for the family internally.
One of the biggest challenges for Ann Arbor homeowners is to know when to call for roof maintenance. Having an inspection schedule is one thing, but what about signs of damage between those inspections? Of course you’ll want to address any damage caused by storms or that develops in the year promptly so that more extensive roof damage can’t occur. Today, we’re here to help you know exactly what to look for.
Let’s dive into the top 15 signs that your Ann Arbor, MI home needs Autumn Ann Arbor roof repairs.
1) Stained or Damp Ceilings and Walls
Start by keeping an eye out for stains. Many of the signs that your roof needs repair can be seen in your everyday life without even thinking about the roof. Stains on the ceiling and walls are a big part of this. Staining of this nature indicates a leak coming from above. This is especially true if the upper corners of a wall are damages so that both the ceiling and walls come together to complete the leak stain. Bubbling paint in the ceiling that may be filling with water is another sign of water getting in from above.
Look for any signs that moisture is getting in from above your ceiling and walls. Watch for streaks of moisture down the walls and any signs of staining on the ceiling. Track this leak back to the source. If it’s not overhead plumbing, then it’s most likely a leak from the roof or surrounding upper area.
2) Light Fixtures Dripping or Corroding
When water leaks into a normal ceiling stretch, it eventually drips into a puddle on the floor. However, light fixtures make the issue more complicated and dangerous. When water drips down through a light fixture in the ceiling, it not only gets onto the wires and puts them at risk of shorting – it also corrodes the metal of the light fixture frame. If you notice the finish of you light fixtures wearing away and the fixture is wet to the touch, be careful and don’t touch the fixture again. Turn off the power to avoid sparks and shorts and then investigate the source of the leak.
3) Freezing or Damp Attic
Your attic is supposed to be an insulated area of your home that forms a buffer between the outdoor temperatures and the indoor temperatures. While not fully conditioned or heated, the attic needs a completely sealed roof and good airflow to maintain the home’s temperature properly. So if you walk into your attic and feel a drastic change in temperature, this can be a serious sign of something wrong. Especially watch out if your attic feels significantly higher in humidity as well as lower in temperature.
4) Pervasive Musty Smell in Attic or Upstairs
A common roof repair problem is moisture in the attic. Even if leaks aren’t heavy enough to drip into the home, small leaks often are enough to diffuse the underlayment and beams with moisture. Wood full of moisture is the ideal home for mold and mildew which slowly eat away at your roofing structural materials.
Your nose knows where mold is long before your eyes do. If your attic smells pervasively like mold or has a strong musty smell, watch out. Have your attic inspected for mold and ask your Ann Arbor roofer if your beams are still structurally sound.
5) Sunbeams in the Attic
Sunbeams are always bad news in the attic, no matter how pretty the may be in the moment. Walk into your attic on a sunny day and look around without the lights on. Track down any source of light that isn’t an approved window. Mark these sources of light with brightly colored tape or flags. Each place sunlight gets in is a place where rain or worse can get in as well. Make sure these holes are inspected and patched by Ann Arbor roofers soon.
6) Bird Nests or Insect Infestation
Another clear sign that your roof needs care is if other creatures have made your attic into their home. A well-built roof with all the right accent boards will also be air-tight and sealed against investations. Insects that like to burrow into the home or living small spaces will not feel welcome. Birds who find improbable overhangs in which to lay their nests will not be able to get in.
So if you have a nest of birds or a hive of insects in your attic, you’ll need both animal controls and roof repairs to remedy the situation.
7) Visible Roof Sagging
Take a walk around your home and look at your roof from a distance. Sometimes, this is the only way to see what is an obvious yet elusive roof problem: Sagging. Look at the lines along the ridges of your roof. Look at the decks to see if the slanted surfaces are smooth top to bottom. Visible sagging is a serious problem but its also something that can be fixed with scheduled autumn repairs.
8) Troughs, Ponds, and Mold/Moss
But what if your decks aren’t smooth? Roof panels that have a dip in the middle are called troughs, and can catch all sorts of things. You may need to clean your roof regularly of things like built-up dirt and leaves. Troughs of moisture are even more dangerous because they can make a scoop, a place where water seeps through with stubbornness and gravity on its side. Not to mention the ice dam forming potential.
Look for troughs in your roof full of water (ponds) or full of moldy rocks and grass growing around it like a proper lagoon. Either type should result in turning off your roof watering structure immediately and seeking repairs.
9) Roof has Rough-Appearing Texture
Another thing you can see from the curb or walking around your home is the texture of your shingles. While it may not be obvious at first, look closely at the texture your shingles create over the roof. Every roofing shingle design is a little different depending on the shingle and the team that installs the shingles. However, if a section of your roof looks different from the rest of it, this can be a sign of area damage like hail marks or wind curling damage.
10)Visible Impact Damage
There’s no question that when something heavy impacts your roof, repairs are needed immediately. Here in Michigan, we get some pretty serious storms. This can result in one of two types of impact damage. The first is tree branches broken loose in a storm and dropped directly onto your roof. heavy enough branches, and those weighed down with snow, can cause significant impact damage to the roof. The second type is flying debris picked up and dropped by the wind.
11) Leaks or Humidity Change When It Rains
How does your attic feel when it rains? How does your home feel? Significant changes in your indoor environment during rainstorms is bad news for the state of your roof. Your attic should not become damp and muggy during the rain if it is properly closed and insulated. Your home certainly shouldn’t drop significantly in temperature or have visible running water leaks when it rains.
If your home is experiencing serious humidity or leaks during the rain, ask a roof inspector to come make sure this isn’t an issue with a poorly sealed roof. If it is a problem with your roof (as is likely) we’ll help you fix it up.
12) Roof is Difficult to Sweep
Many homeowners get through the autumn and winter with a long-handled roof brush. Just sweeping your roof daily can make a big difference in keeping your roof clear – especially if you’re still working on ice dam prevention. However, if your roof brush snags on the roof and does not pull easily across the surface, this could mean it’s time to seek a roof inspection. A wind damaged section of shingles, for example, may be rough and resistant to sweeping and therefore need repairs.
13) Detached and Leaning Gutters
Keep an eye on your gutters. Gutters can take damage over time and may even detach from the edge of the roof. If your gutters are leaning or if you can see a gap, then the gutters aren’t doing their job of directing water away from the edge of the house. Make sure your gutters have been recently cleaned, secured, and prepared for winter by working with Ann Arbor roofing contractors to take care of your gutters and downspouts.
14) Gutters Full of Granules
At some point this fall, get up on a ladder and check the contents of your gutters. This seems like a strange direction until you understand how shingles work. Each asphalt shingle has a layer of UV-resistant granules coating the top. Hail and bad weather knock these granules loose and many granules come loose as the shingles enter their last few years of life. Excessive granules washed into the gutters can mean your roof needs to be replaced next Spring.
15) Rising Energy Bills
Finally, take a look at your energy bill for heating this month vs the same time last year. Have your costs gone up or down? Steadily rising power bills might be your own usage, not the power company .You can reduce your energy spend with a new, well-insulated and well-designed home roof. And if you’re losing home efficiency, it might be the fault of a poorly maintained roof and attic.
Should you call for roof repair in Ann Arbor, MI? If you are asking yourself this question, don’t hesitate to call for a roof inspection and get the full run-down on the state of your roof. We’ll be proud to help you schedule all your roof repair needs this autumn before the winter snows roll in. Contact us today to schedule or consult!
