Many home and business owners neglect roof maintenance until a leak is encountered. The problem with this is that by the time a leak is apparent, the damage is much more difficult and costly to repair. Therefore, knowing a little about what causes leaks to develop can be a real help in stopping the issue before it becomes serious, and can save property owners a lot of money in the long-run.

The first step in learning about roof leaks is to know a little about roofs themselves, with the built up asphalt roof being a good example as it is the most common type of roof. This type of roof consists of 3 or 4 layers of asphalt sheeting that has been bonded together with tar. The top layer of asphalt sheeting will have had a fine mineral granule embedded into it. This colored mineral serves as a protective barrier between the cover sheet asphalt and the weather.  

8-10 years is the typical life-span of a built-up asphalt roof. Regular maintenance is required during this time, as areas such as roof vents, vent pipes and skylights are susceptible to becoming un-sealed. The normal maintenance for these areas involves the application of plasticized cold asphalt. The problem with these treatments, along with other petroleum based roofing products, is that they rapidly out-gas into the atmosphere over the course of a few years. What is left behind is brittle, non-flexible and most often permeable by moisture.

When this happens, the protective mineral barrier on the top layer starts to come off. Once the asphalt is exposed, it is subject to deterioration from UV rays, weathering elements and rapid out-gassing. Weathering elements such as rain, hail, snow, dust and, most commonly wind, promote the breakdown of built-up asphalt roofs. It is shortly after this point that property owners will begin to discover all is not well with their roof.

So, how what pro-active action can home and business owners undertake? Firstly, it is advisable for them to perform an annual inspection of the roof and coating. Secondly, they should apply a non-petroleum based protective treatment to it.

If a roof leak should have already developed, and a property owner is faced with expensive repairs, the it may be worth their while to change their roof coating system to a solar reflective one. This may be slightly more expensive than going through with the repairs, but in the long term money will be saved as the roof will be more durable and will require less maintenance.