Owning a home is a lot of work. Even just maintaining the interior of your home can feel like a full-time job, so forget about the siding, lawn, and roof! You may notice a small leak or the smell of mildew in your attic, but decide to look the other way for now. After all, other repairs need to be attended to around the house — you can put off the roof repairs for a bit, right? Wrong.

Here’s the thing: when you put off roof repairs, you are only making your problem an even bigger, and significantly more expensive, one. Here’s why you should always make sure to prioritize roof repair when you begin to see signs of damage.

Short-Term Impact

Even in the short-term, leaving roof repairs neglected can have a major impact on your building. They may be minorly annoying for now, but present as a much bigger problem over time.

Leaks

At first, leaks are simply irritating. You might notice a slight leak from your ceiling or a small blemish on your roof. These are easy to ignore, but shouldn’t be. Leaks don’t just fix themselves; over time, they expand, allowing more and more water into your home. Once you notice a leak from your roof, address it promptly — you don’t want to have to replace your entire roof down the road.

Higher Energy Bills

If you neglect your roof, you will see it in your energy bills. If there are any holes in your roof, they are letting the cool air from your A/C outside during the summer, and the hot air from your heater outside during the winter. When there are holes in your roof, you have to pay significantly more in energy costs than you would otherwise.

Mold

There are several opportunities for mold to form due to roof neglect. If your gutters are clogged or a roof layer is wet, mold can form and create a dangerous situation for everyone inside the house. Once mold has set in, it is extremely expensive to get rid of, so it’s important to address it promptly. You can avoid this by regularly checking your gutters, roof, and insulation for leaks or clogs. These will go a long way towards preventing mold.

Pests

Neglecting your roof can also increase your risk of having pests infest your roofing system. If you have a damaged roof with big enough holes, pests such as rodents, insects, and racoons will enter through the roof for shelter. It’s possible that a whole family of animals could end up living in your roofing system over time.

Long-Term Impact

Clearly, the short-term problems with roofs are ones you don’t want, but here are the issues that will create much bigger problems.

Significant Water Damage

Remember that leak you neglected to address? Well, now it has completely destroyed the insulation and caused severe mod growth. The ceilings are sagging, and your family is beginning to get sick a lot. Now, you have a repair that is three times more expensive than that small leak repair, you will have to leave your home while repairs are made, and it isn’t guaranteed that you will actually eliminate all that mold. Don’t risk it — address leaks promptly.

Your Family is At Risk

When you ignore roof problems over time, they become much more significant, and can even lead to a roof collapse. If your family is in your home when this happens, it could potentially be fatal. This may sound extreme, but it does happen, particularly in winter weather conditions. Keep your family safe by addressing issues with your roof as soon as possible.

Decreased Property Value

If you want to sell your home one day, it is especially important for you to maintain your roof. If your roof requires a bunch of repairs, good luck trying to convince anyone to buy it. Even if you do make those repairs before putting it on the market, the evidence will be obvious to potential homebuyers. This is another reason not to put off roof repairs — future buyers will be much more interested in spending money on a home with a consistently well-maintained roof.

Expensive Repairs

Fixing a leak isn’t expensive. Removing a small amount of mold isn’t expensive. Replacing an entire roof or gutter system? Incredibly expensive. Every day that you neglect a roof repair, the cost of the future repair goes up. The longer you wait to address your roof problems, the more expensive it will be for you.

In summary: fix your roof! Don’t wait for the cost to pile up and the danger to be imminent. Don’t allow yourself to ignore or forget about these roof problems; call us immediately. If you’re looking for a roofing contractor in Nashville who can help, reach out to us ASAP.