Friday, May 9, 2014

Simple And Easy Roof Repair

By Eloise Hewitt


With all prices skyrocketing, most of us do not include home maintenance as part of our budget. Roof repairs are done once in a blue moon. We feel that we can spend our hard earned money on the more pressing matters and just do the home repairs by ourselves.

This is an excellent financial strategy, of course. But since most DIYs tend to bring more problems than solutions, one should always equip himself with the right tools and the correct information for the task to be successful. Well, now you can do roof repair marble falls tx the easy way which will yield excellent results.

First things first, think of your own safety. It is recommended that you wear the right clothes and rubber soled shoes if you are to work on your roof. Also, safety ropes and special roofing ladders are a must. Any repair should also be done on fine weather when it is dry as to avoid falls.

Once you have all the tools ready, the next thing to be done is to find out what caused the leak. Common causes include aged roofs, clogged gutters due to debris like pine needles, dry leaves and twigs, and poor workmanship. Clean out clogged gutters and sweep out all the dry leaves. Very old roofs should be changed.

Stains on your ceiling are telltale signs of a leakage. If you cannot pinpoint the exact location of the leak, the best way is to go up your attic on a rainy day and locate the area using a flashlight. Since water reflects light, you should be able to see it clearly and mark it. If the house does not have an attic, check for leaks in common leakage areas like the boots or the rubber seals around electric service, flashing, ridge caps, gaskets, shingles, gutters and valleys, which is the line formed when two roofs intersect.

If you find that the problem lies on an afflicted shingle, you can patch up this problem with some flashing and a tube of roofing cement. Cut the flashing so that it is an inch narrower and four inches longer than the shingle. Slip the flashing below the shingle. Apply cement underneath both the flashing and the shingle and press to hold it in position. Examine other shingles and straighten out curled ones.

If the nuisance is in the form of a defaced caulking, simply remove the old caulking, clean the area and apply a new one in the same line. An applicator can be used to spread into cracks. Defaced caulking usually manifests itself in areas like chimneys and vent pipes, so be sure to examine these spots, too.

If the problem area is the holes in your valley, you can cut patches that are two inches bigger than the holes. Be sure that the patches are of the same sheet metal as the valley, otherwise the patches and the part of the valley can corrode, leading to bigger difficulties. Put roofing cement on the holes and position the patches in place.

These tips are for simple damages only like small holes and shingle problems. If your problems are more than leaks and you perceive you will not be able to do it on your own, require help from the experts. You can check for available roofers in your area. Ask around to determine which provide the best service with the most competitive rate.




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