What is a Roof Inspection?
Roof can deteriorate from severe weather conditions, settling of construction materials, normal wear and tear, improper building design, improper roofing installation or lack of maintenance. If a roofing problem is allowed to worsen without intervention from a roofing contractor, you could cause serious damage to your home or building. A simple roof inspection at specific intervals in the life of your home can almost completely alleviate the need for emergency roof repair Pittsburgh service or roof replacement.
A roof inspection is done solely to determine the condition of the roof. By the completion of the inspection, any experienced roofing contractor will know if there is a need for roof repair or a complete roof replacement. Roofing contractors use many special procedures to determine the condition of your roof and to give you a very accurate estimate and recommendation.
What Does a Roof Inspection Check For?
The best strategy for assuring that your home is kept in the best condition is to have an experienced roofing contractor periodically inspect your roof—this is especially true after severe weather. Roofing contractors can determine the exact areas on your roof which are most suspect to have leaks and cause problems.
An experienced roofing contractor knows exactly where to look on your roof and on the inside of your home to inspect for leaks or possible weakened areas that could potentially create water damage in the future. They will notice the color and texture of your roof and roofing shingles. Also, they will check around the ventilation system, inspecting the integrity of the metal and will pay particular attention to any areas where there is caulking or sealant around the roof vents.
The chimney is another area that a Pittsburgh roofing contractor will inspect, looking at the wall line for any openings or cracks as well as checking the metal flashing for rust or any other type of damage. While doing an interior inspection, the roofing contractor will be careful to check the chimney as well to look for water stains there. And although there are a great many areas where a leak might exist, the most common place is around the plumbing pipes and HVAC that snake through most of your roofing. Each pipe must be inspected for any cracks as well as any material that could be rotting or decaying.
Why Should Professionals Inspect Your Roof?
For many years, roofing contractors only used their eyes and knowledge of roof structure in evaluating the condition of a roof to determine if it needed any roofing repair or even a roof replacement. Today, most highly qualified inspectors use advanced technology such as infrared testing equipment to determine “hot spots” on your roof and interior. This will quickly identify trouble spots where leaks have occurred or could potentially occur in the near future.