It’s a gut-wrenching feeling to know your home will potentially face a hurricane. The experience heightens when your home does, in fact, weather the storm. So many questions go through your mind:
- Is my family safe?
- What about my neighbors?
- Will my home be there when the storm passes?
At Sparks Roofing, we understand that a hurricane is an overwhelming, devastating experience, and we want to help. In this post, we share the top ten tips to inspect your roof after it survives a hurricane. We know, depending on the damage sustained, it can be expensive to get your home back into working order — especially your roof. That’s why we want to share these tips with you.
Five Tips For Inspecting Your Roof Post Hurricane
Remember, your safety and your family’s safety is the number one priority in all-things hurricane recovery. Here are the 10 tips:
Tip #1 – Clear All Debris
Once you make sure your home is safe, begin to clear the debris as soon as possible. The weight and the existence of debris increases the chances for more damage to occur. You want to remove the branches, leaves, debris an anything else that does not belong on your roof.
Tip #2 – Survey For Popped Nails
Slowly survey your roof for what is called “popped” nails. These are nails that succumbed to the wind, water, and pressure of the hurricane and popped up from their once secure placement in the wood.
These nails are what hold your roof onto your home. Popped nails are a red flag for the potential of worse damage beneath.
You will want to replace those nails with new ones. In fact, you can install nails designed to withstand storms and hurricanes.
Finally, check your driveway, yard, and landscaping around your home. Errant nails can pop tires or injure your family if not picked up.
Tip #3 – Inspect Your Shingles
You’ve identified popped nails and located potential damage sites. Now it’s time to inspect your roofing shingles. Check the roof flashing at your chimney, peaks, and valleys across your roof. Make sure that the flashing is secure still. See if your shingles have torn away from the flashing.
The connection between flashing and shingle is where leaks and water damage tend to start on most roofs.
Tip #4 – Inspect Your Attic
You will want to take a trip into your attic and look for signs of water damage or other damage in your roof. Wet spots, leaks, or light are all signs that your roof is damaged. If the damage is small, you may be able to fix it yourself. However, if the damage is significant enough, you will want to work with a local residential roofer to repair it.
Tip #5 – Watch For Leaks
Over the next few weeks, check your ceiling and attic to catch any potential leaks before they turn into substantial issues. Your roof may have survived the hurricane, but you can always get a FREE roofing inspection from your hometown roofing contractors in Nashville.
Not sure if your roof is safe to walk on? Want a professional opinion on if you need roofing repairs? Contact Sparks Roofing. We’ve served Nashville for years, and we’re here to help you in a time of need.
