What roof maintenance do you do?

When I was a teenager I would clean my grandpa’s gutters once a year. It was fun. I did it for free. After all he provided me room and board during summer break.

None. The HOA cleans the gutters routinely. We are still waiting on a total roof/soffit/gutter replacement due to Hurricane Ian damage.

Make sure that the metal ‘sleeves’ that surround any stacks that come from the house through the roof are nailed down tight. If they aren’t, and water gets by them, the water can seep along the stack and cause leakage.

@elbanditoroso Thanks. I noticed that the metal track that runs along where two roof areas meet is about an inch short of reaching the gutter. So when water runs down that metal track it doesn’t make it to the gutter and spills straight down and also along the eave. I gotta rig up a small metal extension. Maybe glue it in place with some tar.

Close to nothing. If a hurricane came through I would stand back with binoculars and look to see if there was damage.

If it looked dirty I would pressure clean it with light pressure. When I lived in TN I was in the woods so we cleaned the gutters once every three years.

I have a roof that is three years old, I had to replace it because there was a problem with the original. I haven’t done anything in three years. The previous roof was 4 years old and I never did anything.

My house is a single story ranch so my roof is an easy climb with an extension ladder. For decades I would go up on the roof about a dozen times to clean out the gutters. I would need to do it several times in the Fall, a few times in the winter to clear out ice, and a few times in the spring when the Japanese cherry tree would drop a billion flower petals that would clog everything. In the summer I go up there to put covers over the porch skylights to keep the heat off the porch.

I paid to have new gutters with screens installed a couple of years ago and now I only go up there to clear off the shingle pebbles. I still have to cover and uncover the skylights. I never needed to wash my roof or use moss or algae control.

Thank you all.

@LuckyGuy Wow you are really on top of your roof maintenance.

I put on gutter screens (that I bought from Home Depot) about 10 years ago but there are so many huge broad leaf trees that border my property that the leaves just build up on top of the gutter screen and block the gutters. I still had to clean the tops of the gutters so I removed the screens.

In this area (Tacoma) moss and algae is a big concern. Moss can quickly take over the roof and undermine the shingles. Two of my neighbors have just let their roofs go. They look sort of like arctic tundra (completely covered by thick moss). So ugly.

Anyway. I’ve recently been all over my roof and I think it is sound and looks good. I think with loving care that I can get it to last another 10 years (with help) which is longer that I’ll likely live (I’m pushing 73).

My roof inspection is today. When the roof inspector asks, “How old is this roof?”, I’ll ask him, “Is the roof sound?. I’ll tell you the roof’’s age after the inspection”.

Not much, I’m afraid of heights and my house is a split foyer and essentially two and a half stories. I just bought a safety extension to my ladder so I can walk straight off of it onto my roof but I have not used it yet. Stepping off the ladder is too much but this should help. I have little maple trees growing out of one of my gutters so I’ll have to get up there in the next week or so when I have time but I’m dreading it. I just paid someone last year but if you want something done right, you do it yourself.

@gondwanalon I have wondered about the point you made with the gutter guards being covered by leaves. I have thought about getting them, but if they need cleaned too, why bother. And as to your point of moss on roofs in your area, I would think it would trigger my allergies or be a bug haven, so I’m glad we don’t have that issue here.

We used to have those rotating turbine vents on our roof. Every fall I would go up and put plastic bags over them so that the attic air would not get so cold. And every spring I would go up and remove those bags. We redid our roof so now it has ridge vents. Since then I’ve only gone up to deal with my satellite dish issues and rodent intrusion issues.

When the roof gets totally replaced, be sure that attic ventilation is maximized. That helps the roof to last.

I thought maybe some of you may like to know:

Two “DaBella” roof inspection guys examined my roof inside and out yesterday. They pointed out to me the following:

1. The edges of the shingles support wood was moist at two locations.
2. The flashing at one small area (in an area protected by an overhanging eave) had lifted up.
3. The flashing around a plumbing air vent pipe was old style.
4. There was a very small amount of mold in the attic.
5. They found 3 misplaced nails and they had rust on them.
6. The glue on a few of the shingles had lost adhesion.

The conclusion: You need to immediately buy a new roof from us tonight for over $50K.
They were relentless with the hard sell. I explained to them that I need a second opinion and cost estimate from another roofing company and I don’t make large purchases without thinking about it. They asked, “What’s there to think about?”. I said, “I don’t know that’s why I need to think about it”. Meanwhile they had been at our house for nearly 2 hours (it was after 9 pm).

My wife told them that they aren’t listening to what we are telling them all the while one of the guys was talking over my wife while she was talking. Suddenly my wife said, “I want you two out of here NOW!”. And they quickly left without saying a word.

I’m not going to go through that again soon with another roofer.
My roof looks good and it doesn’t leak. I’m pretty sure that it can last 5 or 10 more years out of it.

I’m sorry that happened to you. There is no reason for them to be aggressive. They obviously thought they had a “sucker” and were going for the throat.

@gondwanalon I think you can get those things fixed for $1,000—$3,000. You could get a second opinion from another company.

You need someone like @tedibear in your corner. She protects the “elderly’. :-)

And thanks for mentioning the company name. It is good to know! Check out the Bertter Business Bureau complaints for them

@LuckyGuy Wow! I see DaBella Roofing in Oregon is bad news! Lots of negative reviews.

Here’s a picture of my roof that I took this morning and a picture from the DaBella brochure showing the very odd roof air vent channels along and under the base shingles and the continuous air vents that run along the entire top of the roof.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48774809@N07

The gaps in the DaBella roof are about 1 inch wide. This presents a huge problem in a rainy wind storm. I was told that water can’t get in through the air vents. I don’t trust them. I’ve never seen anything like this on any building roof.

A much better solution to removing heat and humidity from an attic would be to install something like a solar fan.

All I noticed was the pretty tabby cat!

I don’t think I have those vents near the bottom of the roof under the shingles, but I think I do have what is at the top, or if not on my current house, then on my house prior to this one.

I had my roof replaced a couple of years ago, I might be able to find the quote.

Edit: I found the contract, but I don’t think it will help. My re-shingle was $13,650, but a single story home 21/2 years ago and I don’t remember my total sq.ft., maybe around 2,800–3,000 sq. ft.