A roof leak of any size has the potential for causing a great deal of damage to your home. At minimum, it can be the root for a host of additional issues to come, which we will discuss.
Ageing is never fun, but just like you and I, your roof has a lifespan. If you treat your roof good with regular checkups, such as a yearly roof inspection, and maintain it with a bi-yearly gutter cleaning and roof wash, then it is unlikely that you will encounter a roof leak. In fact, such keen attention can extend the lifespan of your roof, sometimes by as much as 100%. No joke.
Roof Leak Prevention
Your roof inspection each year will also alert you to newly appearing hazards, such as a broken or missing shingle, a clog in your gutters or critter causing damage. By identifying and nipping the issues in the bud, right away, you will minimize the advent of an inopportune roof leak emergency, that always seems to happen at the most inopportune time.
Even when your roof is being properly maintained and with regular inspections, life, as they say can and will happen. For example, misaligned flashing around the jointed areas of a skylight can sometimes occur, especially after very high wind storms and hurricane. Or regular visits from large flocks of birds can cause damage with their highly acidic droppings that burn through some roofing materials, such as asphalt.
Identifying A Roof Leak
Regardless of what the cause, even the smallest leak identified needs to be attended to immediately. Remember that it is often the case that an issue will start off small…sometimes, very small. It doesn’t take very long, or very much for that matter, for that obscure outside roof leak to become a sagging bulge in your ceiling from a collective pooling of water that started out as just a little spot from the seeping of a tiny trickle.
Why Fix A Roof Leak Quickly
Something to keep in mind, if you’re planning to hold off repairs until their next roof inspection, or for spring. While holding off just a little longer, especially for a harmless little roof leak, may seem to be perfectly fine – that’s not typically the case.
Between the time that a leak occurs and the time that you get the issue resolved, for example, a musty smell may start capturing your attention. Where is that smell? Mold. It’s a clear indication that your tiny little problem that can wait has become an innocuously larger issue whereby water has accumulated somewhere, potentially within the structure of your house.
Mold is one of the number one causes for respiratory illnesses and allergies from within the home and is not as uncommon as you’d think in 2023. In fact, approximately 70% of U.S. homes have some form of mold. It takes no longer than approximately 3 to 12 days for the aggressive germination of mold spores, and according to the EPA, because the occurrence of mold occurs where moisture becomes trapped, a roof leak will always lead up to this problem if not fixed right away.
Emergency Roof Leak Assistance
If the goal for waiting to take care of a roof leak is due to finances, then you may want to consider available financing options or grants offered by your city or state. For example, in NYC, there is a home repair and financing program called HomeFix, that is offered by NYC Housing Preservation and Development. In Westchester, NY, there are programs that provide funds for up to $15,000 for certain repairs if you meet certain income and other various requirements.
On the state level, there are single family housing loans and grants geared towards low income and/or elderly homeowners. For a list of home repair and improvements programs and resources listed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for New York State, click here.
It may go without saying some of you will not be eligible for one or all of the available programs offered by the state or your town, but it doesn’t hurt to check in with your local roofing company and asking if they might be aware of some available options, and perhaps they will be able to offer a financing option to fix your roof leak.
Regardless of the situation, it can’t be stressed enough, if you have yet to be convinced, that any leak discovered in your roof, or any exterior location of your house should and can be resolved right away. There’s not better time than now!
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