Caring for your roof can be stressful – but a simple roof maintenance checklist can make everything much easier. Using a smart residential roof maintenance checklist allows you to quickly assess the overall health of your roof, and gives you insight into future roof maintenance tasks that you may have to undertake. You’ll also need roof maintenance tips on how to inspect your own roof, in case of storms and emergencies.

So for this article, we are going to walk you through 5 steps that should be on every roof inspection checklist template, and give you the perfect list with which to maintain the health of your roof.

1. Maintain Records

This is a surprisingly important step on our roof maintenance checklist. Keeping robust, comprehensive, and updated records about the overall health of your roof is crucial for its long term sustainability. Without records of maintenance, roof replacements, roof age, and other helpful information about your roof’s overall state, it’s hard to get a good idea of how well your roof is performing, and how much life is left in it.

Ideally, records should be kept from the date that the home was built, and include any previous roof restorations, re shinglings, and other large projects. Even tracking things like gutter replacements and roof cleanings can be very helpful to give you an overall picture of your roof’s health, as they allow you to have a more comprehensive roof maintenance checklist.

2. Routine Inspections

Routine inspections are another crucial part of a great residential roof maintenance checklist. You could think of a routine inspection as going to the doctor for a checkup – even if you think your roof is in great condition, you need to take a look at it every once in a while, just to make sure it’s performing effectively and holding up to the elements.

As a rule:

  • Asphalt/composite/shingle roofs should be inspected every 3 years (at minimum!)
  • Tile roofs should be inspected at least once every 5 years
  • After about 10 years of roof life, your roof should be inspected every 2 years.
  • After 15+ years of roof life, your roof should be inspected annually.

The older the roof is, the more prone it is to failure – and catching your roof failing early can be the difference between a cheaper repair and a total roof replacement.

roof maintenance checklist

So make roof inspection a priority in your roof maintenance checklist, and if you’re ever unsure about the integrity of your roof, don’t wait – get it inspected right away.

3. Inspections After Storms

A powerful storm can be your roof’s worst enemy. We have a comprehensive guide on how to inspect your roof after a storm, but we’ll go over the basics here on our roof maintenance checklist .

  1. Visually Inspect Your Shingles – If your roof is steep or damaged, you may wish to avoid walking on it. Instead, use binoculars and ladders to get a view of your roof without stepping directly on it. Look for:
  • Broken/Missing Shingles – These should be immediately patched with cement – large swathes of missing shingles will need to be repaired professionally.
  • Curled Shingles – These shingles will no longer be waterproof, and will require replacement.
  • Flapping Shingles – These shingles are losing their adhesive, and will soon fail.
  1. Check Your Gutters/Downspouts For Granules/Debris – If you see many granules or a lot of roofing debris in your gutters, that could be a sign that your roof was damaged in a storm.
  1. Check For Signs Of Moisture – Now, this isn’t always as obvious as water dripping from your ceiling. Often, moisture pools and collects without dripping, and the area from which water drips isn’t necessarily the same area where the roof is damaged. If you see any moisture or dripping, call a professional for an assessment.
  1. Check Your Flashing – Your flashing is the metal around joints in the roof – chimneys, valleys, vents, and so on. Make sure that your flashing is intact and hasn’t peeled away.

By following these steps on your roof maintenance checklist, you can ensure that your roof is in good condition after a storm – and be ready to act if it’s not.

4. Keep Roof Free Of Debris

Roofs are made to keep the elements out of your home – not hold up sticks, branches, leaves, or even excess snow. An important part of any roof maintenance checklist is keeping your roof, debris-free.

This is because if a storm rolls in while debris is resting on your roof, it can slam through and destroy parts of your roof, leading to total roof failure.

Follow our comprehensive roof cleaning guide to keep your roof clean and totally debris-free. If you have a shingle roof, you may also have to deal with algae and moss – lucky for you, we’ve already written up a great guide on disposing of these organisms.

Make debris removal a standard step on your roof maintenance inspection checklist, and you’re sure to increase the lifespan and integrity of your roof.

5. Keep Masonry And Metal In Good Condition

Your roof isn’t just about your shingles. Masonry and metalwork can fail as well – chimneys are the most common roof fixtures that fail – and can lead to disastrous consequences for your roof and your home.

So keep your masonry and your metal flashing and other fixtures in good condition – make it a point to check them when going through a roof maintenance checklist.

Look for excessive rust, corrosion, and damage to metal parts, and look for any signs of cracking, erosion, or other damage on masonry like brick and stone fixtures.

Follow Our Roof Maintenance Checklist – And Protect Your Roof From Damage

Your roof requires constant maintenance and attention to ensure that it’s performing well, and will enjoy a long life. So follow our easy roof maintenance checklist, and protect your roof from damage.

And if you’re in need of a professional service, inspection, or estimate for roof damage, get in touch with American Dream Restoration today. We offer comprehensive repair and inspection services for every kind of roof, and we can help you repair and restore your roof quickly and efficiently.

Are you looking for roofing help?

Contact one of our local offices near you today.

Front Royal, VA

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