Roof Maintenance near you

Spring shows you what winter did, and fall gets the roof ready for the next one. Pick a clear day, walk around the house with binoculars and look at every slope you can see, then finish in the attic, staying on the hatch rather than stepping across the joists, where a foot can go through the ceiling. Repeat the ground check after any storm with high winds or hail.

A maintenance visit is not a replacement quote in disguise. The roofer walks the roof with fall protection, fixes the small defects found along the way and tells you what can wait and what can't. Ask beforehand what the visit includes, whether small repairs are done on the spot or quoted separately, and whether you'll get photos of what was found.

Dark streaks on a shaded slope are usually algae, and they are mostly a cosmetic problem. Moss is different: it grows in thick cushions on shaded, damp slopes, holds water against the roof, lifts the edges of shingles as it spreads and can clog valleys and gutters when it breaks loose. Cutting back the trees that shade the roof and keeping debris off it make both less likely to return.

Pressure washing is the wrong tool. The jet strips the protective granules from asphalt shingles, forces water up under the laps and can break brittle shingles, shortening the life of the roof it was meant to clean. Moss should be removed gently, with methods and products suited to your roofing material, by a crew that works safely at height. See the roof cleaning page to find one, and ask how they will protect the gutters, plants and runoff below.

Most roofs carry an ordinary winter without help, but deep snow on a low-slope section, a drift against a higher wall or snow soaked by rain can add a lot of weight. A long-handled roof rake lets you pull the first stretch of snow off the eaves while standing on the ground. Work from the ground only, keep clear of sliding snow and ice, stay well away from power lines, which a metal handle can touch, and pull gently so you don't tear shingles or bend the gutter.

For anything the rake can't reach, call professionals. The Régie du bâtiment du Québec calls roof snow removal a risky job, recommends specialized companies equipped not to damage the roof, and lists warning signs of an overloaded roof, such as cracks in interior walls, interior doors that stick, unusual creaking and ceilings that deform. Ice dams that return every winter are another matter: Natural Resources Canada's Keeping the Heat In ties them to heat escaping into the attic, so the lasting fix is air sealing and insulation rather than chipping at the ice.

Some findings from a seasonal check can't wait for the next planned visit. Call a roofer promptly if you notice any of these.

Keep a simple roof file: the date and type of roofing, the installer's contract and the manufacturer's warranty, then an entry for every maintenance visit or repair with the invoice, a short description of the work and photos supplied by the roofer. Add your own dated photos from each spring and fall check; they show what the roof looked like before a storm.

That file pays off in two ways. Manufacturer and workmanship warranties often set conditions on care and on who may work on the roof, so read yours and keep proof that you met them. And if a storm damages the roof, the adjuster will want to know what happened and when; dated photos and invoices make it easier to show that the damage is new rather than long-standing wear. Keep a copy somewhere other than the house, such as online storage, so it survives the event you need it for.