The roof over our heads is something hardly anyone gives much attention to. However, it is extremely important – it is a source of ventilation, it protects the house’s integrity, it determines how much insulation your home has, and it controls how much natural light gets in. That’s why you should learn more about it, how to take care of it, and pay attention to the special qualities of your roof.

#1 The Climate Determines The Kind of Roof You Have

There are quite a few types of roofs, and the one installed on your house is most likely optimized for the climate you are in:

• Flat roofs are popular in dry climates. When there’s not much of a risk of water pooling on the roof, there’s no incentive to use extra material to build a raised roof.
• Clay tile roofing and rubber roofing are popular in very hot climates. They have heat deflecting properties that will prevent the temperature inside from rising too high.
• Roofs in cold weather sometimes sit for a month under heavy amounts of snow, and that’s why they require certain reinforcements and considerations to make sure they’ll last under the heavy weight. Furthermore, the tiles should be a dark color, so the roof absorbs more heat during the rare sunny days.

#2 It’s Not Okay to Cover an Old and Damaged Roof

Because we perceive the roof as not particularly important, it is tempting to fall back on inexpensive options whenever a problem occurs. One of the more popular options is adding another layer to the roof and turning it into a double-layer roof. However, this doesn’t address most of the core issues that your roof might be facing.

Adding another layer significantly increases the weight of the roof. If the underlying material is already corroding, this would put more pressure on it, which would usually result in a significant decrease in the roof’s lifetime and necessitate much more expensive fixes later down the line.

#3 The Lifetime of a Roof Depends On You

We might think the roof will last forever, or at the very least, for our lifetime, it is important to realize how long the roof lasts, how much repairs it might need, and whether or not it’ll decrease how much your house will sell for.

Simple roofs in extreme weathers usually last twenty to twenty-five years if regularly taken care of, while more expensive and complex roofs in moderate climates can last up to fifty years.

• Clean off debris that might cause water to pool on the roof – which is the main reason for rapid deterioration.
• Inspect the flashing and make sure it is properly sealed and isn’t deteriorating. Air sneaking in from there won’t only decrease your house’s insulation, but it slowly erodes the insides of the roof. If you’re not careful, after some time, you’ll find that most of the roof has eroded, and you’ll have to spend a lot of money to repair it.
• Gutters are important to get rid of excess water and keep your roof dry – that’s why you should inspect, clean, and unclog gutters from time to time.

#4 Loft Conversions are Popular and Viable

Since the sixties, houses have been getting smaller and more expensive, this has resulted in an influx of people converting their attic into livable rooms. It’s quite a complex process, but it provides quite a few advantages:

• The most obvious benefit, more space. You’ll have more options when it comes to how you can organize your house.
• A loft conversion usually means installing a roof window – this means better air circulation and more natural light inside. If your house suffers from stagnant air and an absence of natural light, simply installing flat roof skylights or pitched roof windows (depending on the type of the roof) in the converted attic will ameliorate those issue greatly.