Outdoor Holiday Light Removal and Roof Inspection Go Hand in Hand

January, the month when Americans typically prepare to take down all those outdoor Christmas lights they so painstakingly hung right after Thanksgiving, is the perfect time to be giving their roof a good look over. After all, with the ladder already out and having already risked head and limb to get up there, the situation is ripe for inspecting any roofing issues that might be arising.

One thing is for certain, you don’t want to wait until heavy snows and thick pileups of ice are leading to major leakages. By then the damage is already done. Indeed, a self-inspection of your roof can help you avoid stained ceilings, waterlogged paneling, warped and peeling drywall and a whole host of other home interior nightmares. But now that you’re up there, what exactly should you be looking for?

Here are some tips from a reputable roofing contractor:

Give your roof a thorough visual inspection. You should specifically be looking for external damage to your roof like obvious holes, cracks or missing shingles.

Be attentive for signs of internal roofing problems as well. While you’re putting all those lights and decorations away, scan the area where the ceiling meets the top of the wall in your attic or upstairs for visual indications of water leakage or staining.

Check to see if any of your trees are growing too close to the roof. If so, consider having them trimmed or taken down.

Examine your roof vents. Sleet and hail are particular foes of these roofing components that provide ventilation when the wind blows. According to QueryCat, roof vents “allow air to flow both in and out of the house plumbing system, helping water to flow through the pipes. Working in combination with the vapor traps, gases from the sewer system are vented safely through the roof.”

Do you have a satellite television receiver or antennae mounted to your roof? If so, pay careful attention to the area in which is it situated for possible roofing damage.

Assess the placement of your roofing shingles. Are they lined up properly or do they appear to be slipping?

Have you recently had new gutters and/or leaf guards installed? If they haven’t been installed correctly, your shingles will point that problem out to you. Watch for physical imperfections to your roofing shingles as well as water damage. These issues provide obvious clues to a problem.

What kind of shape is your plumbing boot in? Home repair expert Bob Vila suggests stepping inside your attic to conduct this inspection. “Check around all the vents and plumbing pipes and look for signs of daylight. This would suggest deterioration in the plumbing boot or flashing on the roof above, which could lead to a leak. All the pipes should be checked for moisture, and the valleys where two roofs meet should be inspected as well.”

Taking down your outdoor holiday lights may be an annual task you dread, but now you have some extra incentive to get it done. Couple it with an annual roof inspection, and you could save yourself thousands of dollars in potential home damage repair.