Why Do You Need A Professional To Fix Your Metal Roof?
Posted on: 19 September 2022
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Metal roofing has plenty of advantages, especially for price-conscious commercial buyers. However, metal roofs can suffer damage like any other roofing material. And, like other roofing materials, unaddressed problems in a metal roof will eventually lead to more severe issues like leaks, rust, and premature roof failure.
Since metal roofs are seemingly fairly simple, do-it-yourself approaches initially look viable. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls to fixing your metal roof on your own. If you're suffering from a leak or other problems, here are three reasons you'll want a professional to handle your repairs.
1. Small Mistakes Cause Big Problems
Most people think of leaks as big issues, but they can often start from very small mistakes. A common leak source on metal roofing is the screws used to secure the roofing to the structure below it. Roofers use oversized screws with rubber gaskets to ensure a tight seal. This seal is necessary since the screw-hole is effectively a "wound" that can provide an ingress point for moisture and corrosion.
As a result, using an incorrectly-sized screw during a repair can lead to big problems. In most cases, it's necessary to replace screws with one size larger. The larger size seals the smaller hole created by the original screw, ensuring a watertight seal. Choosing the wrong screw can potentially lead to major rust issues in the future.
2. Quick Repairs Often Fail
Many quick fixes are available for metal roofing leaks, such as using tar or other products to seal around leaky spots. Unfortunately, these easy do-it-yourself solutions typically have a relatively short lifespan. Even worse, they can cause more damage than the original problem and even shorten the overall lifespan of your roof.
Unsurprisingly, rust is often one of the most significant dangers for metal roofing. A correctly-installed roof will take a long time before rust becomes an issue, but damage can speed the process. Using tar and other sealants will trap water against the roof, which can be an even larger problem if there's already a crack or leak. This moisture then inevitably leads to premature rusting issues.
3. Finding Leaks Is Hard
Since leaks can come from areas as small as a single screw, locating leaks on a metal roof isn't a job for the inexperienced. Water can travel a significant distance from its initial ingress point, making it hard to use the interior location of a leak to guide you in your search. Instead, professional roofers use experience, training, and specialized tools to help find the source of a water problem.
In many ways, this is the most important reason why you should always hire a professional to repair your roof. Metal roofs have extremely long lifespans, but staying on top of problems is necessary to ensure they last for as long as possible. Hiring a professional ensures you'll find the source of your roofing problems, allowing you to conduct a complete and thorough repair.
Contact a roofer for more information about metal roof repair.