Heat Caused Damage To Roofing Structure

Any proper roofing structure should include a layer of insulation. The insulating materials help the insulated building to maintain a suitable temperature. Still, the roof’s insulating materials were not designed for exposure to extreme temperatures. How does that fact underscore the chances for heat-caused damage to the home’s rooftop?

How a roof reacts to heat exposure

Students in an introductory chemistry course learn that heat causes the atoms in chemicals to move more quickly. That more rapid movement causes the heated chemical to expand. Experts in roofing realize the significance of that simple chemical principle.

The materials in a home’s insulation expand, as the home’s roofing gets exposed to the sun’s intense heat. That expansion then encourages the development of brittle-like characteristics within the roofing structure. Consequently, a brittle rooftop must be treated, in order to prevent the formation of leaks.

In addition to their heat, the sun’s rays also contain UV rays. Those rays trigger a breakdown of chemicals in the rooftop’s structural components. As that breakdown progresses, the roofing structure gets weaker and requires professional roof repair in San Mateo. In other words, heated rooftops experience the effects of a double whammy. Their expansion causes them to become more brittle. At the same time, their exposure to UV rays leads to a weakening of the roofing structure.

What can homeowners do to limit heat’s unwanted effects on rooftops?

Homeowners need to check for damage to the home’s roof. That includes examining for leaks and for development of places where the roof’s surface has turned brittle. Ideally, a smart homeowner carries out such an examination while cleaning the roof’s sun exposed surface. If a homeowner spots a brittle region, then that same area must be treated, in order to prevent the development of leaks. That treatment, which serves as a means for repairing damage, takes the form of an installation project.

An expert on roofs should get hired for the purpose of installing a roof membrane. That membrane helps to provide the weakened structure with an added amount of support. Still, it does nothing to protect the sun-exposed surface. So, how can homeowners work to protect the rooftops on the residences that shelter their loved ones? The painting industry has created paints that are capable of performing that function. In other words, a coat of the right type of paint can protect roofing from the sun’s harmful effects.

Even the most experienced roofer lacks knowledge of any type of device that has the ability to keep the sunlight from hitting a rooftop. Still, all roofers realize that some action should be taken, in order to limit the amount of damage that intense sunlight can cause to form within a rooftop’s structural components. Smart roofers undertake such actions.