If you’ve lived in Brisbane for any length of time, you’ll know all about storm season. We get our usual afternoon storms that roll in about school pickup time on those hot, humid summer afternoons. Then we get those supercell, 110 kmph wind, hail-dumping monsters that often fling trampolines, create flash flooding and damage or in some cases, completely ruin the roof of your house.
Once you’ve experienced this type of storm, you get a feel for how important it is to make sure things around your home are storm season ready. Most people think of outdoor furniture, trampolines and trimming trees, but the first item on the Storm Wise checklist for preparing your home is “Check your roof regularly to make sure it’s in good condition”. That’s great advice and all well and good, but what does “Check your roof regularly to make sure it’s in good condition” actually mean?
There are two parts to this statement – “check your roof regularly” and “see if it’s in good condition”. But how often is ‘regularly’ – every week, every month, twice a year? And what do they mean by ‘good condition’ and how do we establish the differences between ‘good condition’, ‘great condition’ and ‘needs repair’?
How Often Should You Check Your Roof?
This will ultimately change depending on the area you live in, the type of roof you have, if your area is likely to get storms and if you’ve got trees around your home and how large they are, how established they are and how much leaf matter they drop throughout the year.
On Average You Should Be Checking Your Roof at Least Twice a Year
If you have large trees that drop limbs or you have many different trees that are close to and drop leaves on your roof (particularly deciduous trees), you will want to check your roof and particularly your gutters more often. Gutters can quickly fill up with leaf matter (or kids’ tennis balls and handballs, etc) and in heavy downpours this can cause issues so it’s best to check more often and not find an issue than to only check when something goes wrong.
If you don’t have the equipment to get on your roof or you’re not comfortable getting up on the roof yourself, it’s best to call a Brisbane roofing company like Gutter and Roof Repairs at least once a year to come out and inspect your roof for you. This way you can be sure your roof is always in tip top condition.
When Should I Check My Roof?
1. Before Storm Season
If you’re checking your own roof it’s best to do it before the summer storm season makes its way into Brisbane so around September / October is a good time to ensure everything is in place with your roof to be prepared for the upcoming storm season.
2. After Storm Season
It’s also a good idea to check your roof after storm season as some of our wild storms in Brisbane (particularly over the past few years) can easily displace or dislodge tiles, guttering and ridge capping that may cause you issues down the track.
3. Before the Westerly Winds Arrive
Brisbane is well known for its westerly winds that bluster their way into the city and its suburbs around the same time the Ekka gets to town. Whilst not as crazy and destructive as some of the storms we get in the summer months, the westerlies can do damage if there’s already underlying issues with your roof like loose tiles or lifted sheets of metal.
What Do I Check for When Looking At My Roof?
Inspect your roof regularly to identify blocked gutter, pipes and minor gutter and roof damage before they cause expensive damage.
Completing a visual inspection of your roof should consist of a few different items on your checklist. Here’s what you want to be looking out for when you are checking your roof:-
- Broken or cracked tilesBroken, cracked or out of place ridge tiles (these are the tiles at the peak of the roof or at the ‘top of the triangle’ where your roof meets)
- Broken cracked or missing ridge capping (this is the concrete-like stuff that holds your ridge tiles in place)
- Lifted sheets of metal
- Corrosion in the sheets of metal on your roof
- Sagging or buckling of any kind
- Check for debris or foreign objects
- Rust spots on any metal surfaces
- Moss or mould on the roof
- Missing or broken chimney caps (if you have a fireplace)
- Inside the roof
- Wet spots on the gyprock or ceiling material
- Pungent odour or damp smell (could indicate leaks or vermin)
What Do I Do if I Want a Roof Inspection Company to Look At My Roof?
That’s easy – it’s a simple case of picking up the phone and calling 0421 460 580 or if you’re on a mobile, simply click the phone number to call us right away and Jason from Gutter and Roof Repairs will take your call and organise for a time to come out and look over your property.
Don’t wait until a minor issue becomes an expensive problem contact us today.