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Important Roof Repair Tips For Homeowners (DIY Guide)

September 8, 2023 // 5-minutes read

Roof repair is an important thing to get right to keep your house stable. It is the part of the house that protects you from the natural elements and is part of the foundation.

Still, because of the price to hire professionals, many homeowners try to do-it-yourself (DIY) projects around their houses. Since the pandemic, about 81% of homeowners have done at least one DIY project.

If you are someone that has roof problems, you are likely looking for roof repair tips to make this a DIY project. Well, here are some tips that you should follow.

Walk Around Your House

craftsman stairs on the suburban house

Before you go up to the roof, you should take a look at the possible damage from the ground. You can do this a couple of different ways depending on the type of damage that you have.

For one thing, you can walk around the perimeter of the house. From the ground, you can take a look at what type of damage is noticeable.

Is one of your gutters loose? Is there a hole in your roof? Are there shingles falling off of your roof?

These are things that you should at least be able to glance at before you need to climb up on the roof.

Also, you can try to assess roof damage from the inside of your house.

For example, let’s say that you have a leak that is mainly affecting your upstairs bathroom. You can go in there first and try to see how bad the leak is. Also, you can poke around the ceiling of your bathroom to get an idea of how big of a problem you are dealing with.

Since it is not the safest thing to climb to the top of your roof, you should do as much investigating on the ground as possible before it comes to that.

Have the Right Tools

The next thing you should do is make sure that you have the right tools. You can start by making sure that you have a decent ladder to climb your roof with. If you are doing this yourself, you want to take extra precautions to make sure that your ladder is steady.

Even for professionals, falls off roofs are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. So, you need to make sure that your ladder is tall enough to climb to the roof and strong enough to hold its position with some weight on it.

Also, you are going to want to invest in other tools to work on your roof. This can be a hammer, nails, a screwdriver, gloves to protect your hands, and more.

Have the Right Footwear

Going off of the above, you want to make sure that it is safe to be on your roof. One way to increase safety is to make sure that you have the right footwear.

You would not dream of going up on top of a slippery roof with some flip-flops on. However, regular sneakers with no grip can be almost as bad.

In this situation, you are going to want to wear some boots with a good rubber-soled grip. That means that your boots can be sturdy on your roof in almost any weather condition. As a result, you can move about your roof more freely and prevent a fall from happening.

Check the Weather Report

asphalt shingle roof with dark clouds

Before you climb up to the top of your roof, you are going to want to check your local weather report. The last thing you want is to be caught up there during an unexpected storm.

Things to look out for include any chance of rain, thunderstorms, snow, high winds, and more. If anything like that is on the forecast, keep an eye on the clock and get off of your roof before that type of weather hits your area.

Watch Your Steps

If you are dealing with a weak roof or an older roof, you may have parts of your roof that are more sensitive than others. If you are not sure what you are dealing with before you climb up there, it is critical to watch your steps carefully.

Do you notice a part of your roof that is lower than the rest? Is there a part of your roof that water gravitates to?

This can be a very vulnerable part of your roof that you will want to avoid. If you accidentally step on this part of your roof, you could risk falling through it.

Know When to Stop

Finally, if you are not a professional in the roofing industry, there is only going to be so much that you can do. At some point, the job may be so extensive that you will have no choice but to call in professionals. Also, your roof could be in such bad condition that you may have to replace it entirely.

When the job becomes too big to do alone or the risks become too high, these are normally signs that it is time to step aside.

Follow These Roof Repair Tips

These are just some roof repair tips that you can use if you are attempting a DIY project. You want to make sure that you are doing this safely. So, get the right tools and the right footwear before you begin. Also, check the weather report before you go up and watch your steps while you are on the roof.

Eventually, the job may become so extensive that you may need to replace your roof. Get a roof replacement estimate here.

Quicker Service. Bigger Discounts. Fewer Hassles. Buckworth.

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