Guide
The maintenance that actually matters
You cannot maintain your way out of old age, but you can comfortably add five years to a roof that is otherwise sound.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Commerce contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Commerce is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Twice a year, from the ground
Walk the perimeter with binoculars if you have them. You are looking for missing or lifted material, dark patches, sagging lines, and anything growing where it should not be. Ten minutes, twice a year.
Deal with growth properly
Cleaning a roof aggressively does more damage than the growth was doing. Gentle treatment, patience, and a strip at the ridge to stop it returning.
Cut back anything touching the roof
Overhanging limbs cause three problems at once: abrasion, permanent shade that keeps a slope damp, and a highway for rodents into the attic.
Keep the penetrations honest
Rubber pipe boots are the single most common source of leaks on an otherwise sound roof, and they are cheap to replace before they fail.
Look in the attic after heavy weather
Check after the first real weather of the season rather than at the end of it. A small stain found in autumn is a cheap repair; the same stain found in spring is not.
Clear the gutters before the wet season
Blocked gutters back water up under the bottom course of shingles and rot the fascia behind them. This is the highest-value hour of maintenance there is, and here it wants doing before November through March.
In short
None of this is difficult and none of it is expensive. It is simply the difference between a roof that reaches its rated life and one that does not.
Related questions
Is this really free?
Yes. You pay nothing, now or later. Roofing contractors pay us for the introduction, which is why the service costs you nothing and why we are upfront that it is how we make money.
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Contain the water, photograph everything, and get the request in marked as an emergency. A tarp is the right first job. The permanent repair is a separate conversation and a separate price.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, in nearly every jurisdiction a re-roof is permitted work. A contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something useful about how they work.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.