Winter season is always the best time to tackle home and building maintenance and repairs here in Gauteng. Usually, you will know when your roof is ready to be maintained and if you don’t, look out for the signs. Such as discoloration of the paint, cracked up ridging, water stains and leaks in your building and rusted roof sheeting are just the base line give-aways! Here are 3 ways to prevent damage and expensive repairs to your roof
Corrugated/ IBR sheet metal roof
You want to keep a steady eye on this kind of roofing structure, as they generally require good maintenance, often! These structures are more prone to movement from wind and rain, than your tiled roof or flat slab structure. For this reason, the roof screws are constantly subjected to pressure from the movements of the sheets. Over time, the seal in the roof screw / washer deteriorates and the screw starts pull out from the purlins. When this happens, usually you have a higher chance of leaks.
So how do we make sure we prevent this from happening?
We maintain it before it gets there! A roof service every 2 – 3 years is recommended for this type of roof. This includes re-securing the roof screws or replacing, rust treating the metal and waterproofing if necessary. A good roof paint will also add an extra barrier to protect the waterproofing.
Tiled roof
Tiled roof’s are designed to be water tight. However, they are certainly not immune to it. Maintenance on a tiled roof is fairly minimal compared to a metal sheet roof, but maintenance is definitely needed.
You want to make sure your tiled roof is serviced every 4-5 years. Weak areas of a tiled roof are generally the valley flashing, ridging and flashing details alongside chimneys, walls and the like. Every 4-5 years, you want to make sure you seal the ridges, either just a cement service or waterproofing “cap”. The valley flashing lips to be inspected and bent back if they have collapsed as well as treat against rust if necessary. Re-aligning and replacing tiles will be necessary to ensure the roof is in good shape. Finally coating the roof with a good roof paint will ensure the roof tiles remain in top condition for longer.
Flat Slab/Concrete Slab
These roofs, like the metal sheet roofs, require maintenance often. Due to the fact this roof is flat, we have higher chance of water and debris sitting stagnant. Even with a good waterproofing system in place, maintenance is necessary more often.
You want to make sure you cleaning the debris from the outlets and roof every month, atleast. During the rainy season, after every downpour. Tree’s and large bushes need to be trimmed and kept from hanging over the roof.
If you have torch on waterproofing system on your slab, you will need to service your slab every 2-3 years with a bituminous aluminium coating. Overlaps and upturns need to be checked then repaired if necessary. The waterproofing through the outlet needs to be refreshed as well as brackets for aircon units or alike that are secured on the slab.
If you have acrylic based waterproofing system, it is still recommended that you service your roof every 2-3 years as the damage and resultant cost of a potential leak will always be more expensive than routine maintenance.
If you need a professional to help you tackle your roof maintenance, contact us at https://dampcon.com/home for our commercial & industrial roofing services or at https://dampcon.co.za/home for our residential roofing services. Additionally, if you’re an avid DIY’er just looking for products, we recommend that you shop online at paint-scape.shop
