The move from renting to homeownership is an exhilarating one. You have your own space, which also means you have your own repairs to handle, too. If you want to reduce the chances of something needing repairs, taking action now to ensure the item stays safe or in good working order is necessary.
One of those things is your roof, and this is especially important in areas where wildlife — even neighborhood squirrels — are present. Those little animals that look so cute in your yard can turn into terrors when they discover your roof. They know that they can find hiding places in houses, and if they see that they can get into yours, they will. Your roof and parts of the home next to the roof are among the most likely places (in addition to spots under the house) where they'll get in.
Animals Are Opportunists and Good at Finding Weak Spots
Animals are out for their survival and their survival only. They want warm, dry places to nest and sleep. They know that houses contain cozy crawl spaces and that many homes have weak spots like flimsy mesh covering a vent opening. In breeding season, the problem gets worse as animals, particularly raccoons, rats, and squirrels, seek out safe places to have their young. A dark crawl space looks perfect, and if it's compact instead of spacious, that's perfect as it will be harder for predators to reach the animals and their young.
Animal Coziness Equals Damage to Your Home
Unfortunately for you, when the animals get in, you're left with torn screens, ruined flashing, missing roof tiles that stronger animals have torn apart, scratched insulation, and more, and that's before you start to have issues with droppings and food that the animals bring in attracting bugs. So the animals are all nice and cozy, and now you have the sounds of scratching and odd smells assailing you.
You Can Take Defensive Maneuvers Now
Before the animals become a problem, take defensive action. Call a roofing contractor and ask them to replace flimsy vent screens, add drip edges to the edge of the roof, change the roof flashing to metal if the home's builder used a softer material for whatever reason, and ensure that all potential openings are sealed. Ask them to look under eaves at soffit vents, too.
By sealing up the weak spots and having regular roof inspections, you can do a lot to prevent animals from tearing up an important part of your house. Roofing contractors can help you spot potential problem areas.
One day when we were all sitting in our living room, I thought I felt a drop of water fall onto my arm. At first, I figured it was my imagination, but when the second one fell, I knew we had an issue. Although it wasn't raining that day, it had rained the day before, so I started looking for the source of the problem. After looking in my attic, I could tell what the problem was, and I knew I had to fix it. I started looking for ways to stop the water immediately, but it just wasn't working for me. Fortunately, roofers came out, fixed the problem, and showed me what I needed to do to clean up the mess. Read more on this blog.