Properly maintaining the roof of your house or building is hard enough if you actually reside in the structure but it is twice as hard if you have tenants living there. It is your duty to provide habitable housing but since you are not present 24/7 it is hard to know the state the property is in and does it needs investing.
When the tenants call you to say there has been flooding after recent rainfall, it is too late to act. Therefore, you should learn these simple, yet effective roof maintenance tips intended for landlords. In terms of a rental property, it is only necessary to cut branches (check out the guys from https://www.thelocaltreeexperts.com/wa/edmonds/) that linger directly over the roof. Trimming the rest of the foliage is more for aesthetics than safety purposes. An additional benefit will be the fact that fewer leaves and twigs will end up on the roof and more importantly, in the gutters.
Modern roofs are NOT maintenance-free
Before we give you a couple of practical pieces of advice, we should bust the myth that roofs covering modern houses don’t require maintenance. Although it is true that the roofs are getting better both in terms of design and materials used, they still require regular inspection and maintenance. TKM Metal Roofing Sunshine Coast can help with roof maintenance and replacement.
An energy-efficient roof will save you money at the end of the month but it won’t save you the time necessary to inspect the condition it is in. By doing so, you are prolonging the roof’s lifespan and preventing the warranty on it to be cut short by poor maintenance.
Install insulation in the attic
Speaking of energy efficiency, the tenants are going to be happier if the home is nice and warm in the winter. However, a comfortable roof temperature should not put too much stress on the monthly utility bill. This is where the roof’s understructure comes into play as the attic should be well vented and properly insulated.
A layer of insulation under the roof will stop snow or ice from melting instantly and then refreezing which will take a structural load of the roof, not to mention a decreased risk of water damage. Attic insulation will create a coat or layer that will help protect the inside of the house against the harsh environment outside.
Remove snow from the roof
No matter how durable the structure of the roof is, it has a loadbearing capacity beyond which crashing is imminent. That’s why you should let the tenants know before the onset of winter that if they witness a buildup of snow on the roof to call you right away.
When you arrive, pick up a rake and try to remove as much snow as possible to prevent the roofs from caving in under all that extra weight. Due to icy conditions outside, position the ladder carefully in order to prevent possible injury.
Cleaning the gutters
Apart from snow, fallen leaves in autumn can also cause major problems. Unlike cleaning snowfall once a year and only along the edges of the roof, he gutters need to cleared of debris along their entire length encompassing the house. This action is vital unless you wish to risk water damage to the inside of the house due to leaky or missing gutters.
Because of the complexity of the operation, use a boom lift like the one Universal Mobile Tower Hire offers to get the job done safely. Jokingly, if you fall down, injury yourself, and end up in a hospital, who’s going to collect the rent!
Prevent tree damage
While you’re in the position of a boom lift or even a cherry picker, you might want to trim nearby trees if you are skillful enough and have experience wielding a chainsaw. Namely, a falling branch can wreak havoc to your roof, ending up inside the house if the storm if violent enough.
In terms of a rental property, it is only necessary to cut branches that linger directly over the roof. Trimming the rest of the foliage is more for aesthetical than safety purposes. An additional benefit will be the fact that fewer leaves and twigs will end up on the roof and more importantly, in the gutters.
Advise the tenants to pay attention to all warning signs
As we have stated earlier, you don’t live in the structure so you have to rely on your tenants to provide you with info on what is wrong with the roof. Advise them to let you know immediately if they hear or see any signs of trouble. These can range from a rodent infestation in the attic to individual shingles a storm blew away.
Tell the tenants that repairing the roof is no big deal for you but they need to report that something is wrong with the roof before the situation escalates. Replacing a single cracked roof tile is easy and inexpensive; replacing a whole section of the roof will set you back thousands of dollars.
Presuming you have rented out your property with a roof in a solid condition, don’t expect it to stay like that forever. Roofs need regular maintenance that is comprised of if nothing else than a casual visual inspection from the ground below. The better the roof is maintained, the easier it will be to fix it and replace damaged parts so you’ll need to solicit full cooperation on the part of from your tenants.
Guest author, Ron Wolf is a hobby designer and a DIY enthusiast, and, above all, a very blessed father of two. Besides that, he has a strong passion for writing. He is a featured blogger at various blogs and magazines in which he shared his research and experience with the vast online community. If he is not working he enjoys being outside with his family. Hiking, bike riding, and BBQing are always a thing for him. In the evening, he likes to watch documentaries or build something with kids in their lego corner.