5 Tips to Prepare Your Roof for Hurricane Season
Is your roof ready for a hurricane?
Experiencing a natural disaster can be a pretty scary situation. If you’re not prepared, you and your environment can face a lot of damage. Here are some ways that you can protect your roof from damage and prepare it for hurricane season.
1. Consult a Professional Roofing Company for Advice
Your roofing system really needs to be looked after during chaotic weather situations along with hurricane season. Whether you experience flooding, hail, or any other damage, you should try to consult a professional before it happens. In fact, most insurance claims that people file during the year are related to roof damage caused by natural disasters. Also, if your roof gets damaged, it can lead to other problems later on that will affect your home. Water damage and mold growth are just two examples of what can take place in the aftermath.
2. Inspect and Replace Any Shingles
Modern shingles that are made of asphalt can protect against really strong winds, some even up to 150 mph. If your roof has shingles that are a bit older in age and style, they might not be able to take such strong winds. Older ones can probably handle winds up to 60mph at the maximum. Along with that, shingles that have six nails will be much better at protecting your roof than shingles that only have four nails. The exception is our Atlas branded roof shingles which can handle winds up to 130mph with four nail applications. Because the winds are so strong, older four-nailed shingles can be easily lifted from the base and expose the material to water and other harmful substances. This will also lead to water leaks and other types of damage.
If you want to ensure that your shingles will do better at staying in place during strong windstorms, try using some roof adhesive to the loose ones and put a lot of pressure on them so that they stay in place. You should try doing this anywhere from 2 weeks to an entire month before a storm comes. This will be more than enough time for the glue to settle. This is probably your best bet if you want to fight against harsh winds.
3. Call a Professional Roofer for Assistance
We at NKS Contracting, LLC can advise you on the steps needed to take to get things sorted out. However, you may need to take it a step further and have us come out for roof repair. Getting some reinforcement will ensure that you’re getting the best roof protection. Be sure to ask us about reinforcement if you feel you need extra roof protection. If it does, give us a call at 919-701-6504. It’s best to handle these things a few weeks before the storm so that everything will be prepared; however, we will make sure to advise on the best things to do at any given time.
4. Install a New Roof
If you feel that buying a bunch of DIY products or spending hours on the phone with a professional is too tedious, consider getting a new roof altogether. If you do this, you should make sure that you’re not planning on getting the roof installed on any days that are close to the storm date. Don’t do it just before or just after.
5. Do Your Research
Whether you are consulting a professional or planning on doing your own repairs, you should make sure that you do thorough research before doing anything. Make sure that you check out the building codes in the area you live in to see what is required or prohibited by the government. You can also visit authoritative websites to try to find more in-depth guides on how you can prepare for hurricane season. Once you have taken the necessary steps to acquire the proper knowledge, you’ve already accomplished half of the goal to protect your home and your family. Give us a call at 919-701-6504, and we’ll be there to help you every step of the way. To learn more about our roof repair services, click here.
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