A year of roof maintenance

Keep the penetrations honest

Pipe boots crack, sealant shrinks, and satellite mounts get screwed straight through the covering. Every penetration is a hole somebody decided to make watertight, and each is worth a look.

Clear the gutters before the wet season

Blocked gutters back water up under the bottom course of shingles and rot the fascia behind them. This is the highest-value hour of maintenance there is, and here it wants doing before November through March.

Twice a year, from the ground

You do not need to be on the roof to find most problems. A slow lap of the house at a low angle finds nearly all of them.

Look in the attic after heavy weather

Check after the first real weather of the season rather than at the end of it. A small stain found in autumn is a cheap repair; the same stain found in spring is not.

Deal with growth properly

Cleaning a roof aggressively does more damage than the growth was doing. Gentle treatment, patience, and a strip at the ridge to stop it returning.

Cut back anything touching the roof

Overhanging limbs cause three problems at once: abrasion, permanent shade that keeps a slope damp, and a highway for rodents into the attic.

In short

None of this is difficult and none of it is expensive. It is simply the difference between a roof that reaches its rated life and one that does not.