Hey there NWA! Your roof is your homes first line of defense against the weather. Water getting into your home can cause thousands of dollars of damages. One of the most important things you can do to prevent problems is regular maintenance. Just like your car needs oil changes to stay running, some small maintenance steps will help you extend the life of your roof. As a local Northwest Arkansas roofer, we wanted to create this list of 5 items specific to NWA roofs and homeowners.

1. Keep Your roof Clean

The first step in Maintaining your roof in Northwest Arkansas is to keep debris off of it. Things like leaves, branches, and seeds can build up on your roof and cause problems. Perhaps the best part of living in NWA is all the trees, but they can make a mess. Debris can build up and cause water to  back up underneath your shingles causing roof leaks. So if your home has lots of trees around it, you are going to want to watch for debris. You can typically get debris off of the roof with a leaf blower if it hasn't gotten too bad.

2. Clean out your gutters

Just like the roof surface, your gutters can get clogged with debris. All of the water that lands on your roof has to pass through your gutters, so keeping them flowing properly is really important. Also, in lots of areas around Northwest Arkansas, houses are built into hillsides. If your house has a basement or crawlspace, than your gutters are an important part of keeping those areas dry. If your gutters overflow and dump water right up against your house, that water is likely to find its way into your basement. So get the step ladder out once a year and clear out those gutters. Or you can call your favorite roofing company to do it for you.

3. Look up

Most people take their roof for granted, and never really look at it. Make a habit of inspecting your roof from time to time, especially after stormy weather. Here in NWA, we get a lot of thunderstorms, that can cause lots of roof damage. Walk around your house looking for missing or lifted shingles. Observe every side, not just the front. Noticing a problem while it is still small can prevent further damage and keep costs down.

4. Inspect your attic

A lot of roof leaks show up in the attic before they show up on your ceiling. When a leak is small and just beginning to develop, it will often get the plywood wet in the attic but not soak through the ceiling. Its best if you can do an attic inspection during a rain. Not only will it be a lot cooler in the attic, but any wet spots will show up much better. Use a strong flashlight to make sure that everything is nice and dry, especially around chimneys, skylights, and roof vents. Over 90% of the roof leaks in Northwest Arkansas that we see are around these areas. IF you do see any wet spots its definitely time to call a local roofing company.

5. Think about calling a pro

You can do most of the roof maintenance on your home yourself, but there are time when you should seek out a qualified roofer. If your roof is too steep, or extra high, you may not feel comfortable getting on your roof. As your roof ages, it is a smart idea to have a roofing company do a professional roof inspection. Most roofing companies in Northwest Arkansas will gladly provide a free inspection to let you know the condition of your roof. A licensed roofer will be able to point out any small problems or issues that you may have missed. Once again, identifying and addressing small issues before they become big issues is the surest way to maximize the life of your roof.

Thank you for checking out this article about roof maintenance in Northwest Arkansas. We hope it was helpful. Were are a locally owned and operated NWA roofing company, and are here to help in any way we can. If there is anything we can do to help, please contact us.