What Extreme Heat Can Do To Your Roof

Roof

Harsh winter weather can cause a lot of damage to your home's roof, resulting in annual spring checkups and cleanup efforts.

But what’s often overlooked is the damage that can be done to your roof during the extreme heat of the summer months. This can cause just as much, or even more, long-term damage to your home's roof than even the harshness of winter.

Particularly if you have a shingle roof, the most popular type in the United States, the excessively hot summer heat can create issues for your roofing materials.

It is important to note that proper ventilation can prevent extreme damage often caused by summer's extreme heat and humidity. The key is to keep the air circulating as smoothly and effortlessly as possible, preventing some of the problems we’ll discuss below.

But different types of damage will inevitably occur and result in needed repairs over the years. However, They can be minimized with proper planning and spending a few hours addressing any small problems before they turn into larger ones.

There are two different types of damage caused by extreme heat during the summer months – damage caused by the actual heat and then damage caused by moisture, whether that’s humidity in the air or actual summer storms.

Damage Caused by Summer Heat

Excessively hot temperatures during the summer months will inevitably cause rafters, joists, and even decking to expand. This expansion during the warm weather can also cause your roof flashing sealant to stretch and break, which must be repaired as soon as possible to prevent future leaks and water damage.

Your roofing shingles can also shrink during hot weather, which can pop out the nails that are holding the shingles to the roof. If this happens and the shingles become raised, replacing that section of your roof could be necessary.

But while the sun can cause damage to your roof from the outside, the extreme heat of the summer months can also cause damage to your roof from below. Your attic or crawlspace can become extremely hot during this time of year and can cause damcauser roof from the inside your home.

If if your attic is poorly ventilated, extreme heat can cause blisters and cracrm in your roofing shingles. If enough of these are created on your roof, it might be necessary to re-shingle your roof sooner than you initially thought.

Damage Caused by Summer Moisture

The humidity and extreme moisture of the hot summer months can cause damage to the materials used in the structure of your roof. This can impair not only your roof decking but also the shingles of your roof, which can be torn off during summer storms if they’ve become damaged or worn due to the hot weather.

If the moisture trapped in your attic or crawl space causes problems that are severe enough that the sheathing needs to be replaced, then you will need to remove and replace the shingles as well.

It’s always a good idea to prevent excess moisture from accumulating and remaining on your roof, as this can lead to wood rot and large repair projects down the road if left unattended. This can involve replacing not only the shingles but also the roof rafters, particularly if mold growth has become so severe that the problem can not be adequately repaired.

If caught early enough, however, you may be able to clean the wood and then paint it with an alcohol-based primer, which will kill the spores and seal the surface. So, the key is to keep the problem from getting so large that it simply can’t be fixed without taking on a large repair bill.