The importance of the job your roof does for your house is often overlooked. Without it your house would rot due to damp conditions; it would feel as though you were living outside.

Your roof protects your house against elements of the weather such as rain, cold, wind and heat, depending on where in the world you live. It keeps your property weatherproof and having problems with your roofing could be disastrous.

The life span of your roof various; they don’t all have a set amount of time. Your roof could last up to 100 years or it could last 40 or 20 it really depends on the material that was used to construct it as well as the type of climate that you live in but it should be noted that as soon as you realise there is a problem with your roof you should get it fixed as the longer you leave it the worse it will get but how do you know that you have a problem with your roof? One of the first signs that will appear indicating that you have a problem, most likely a leak, with your roof is you will start to notice dark patches on the ceilings within your house. This demonstrates that water has gotten inside of your roof and is seeping into the timbers and the installation of your loft area.

There are certain checks that you can make to your roof in order to keep an eye on it during bad weather conditions, none of which involve climbing around on your property. If you go into your garden and look up at your roof with the aid of binoculars you should look for blistered, curled or split shingles as well as shingles that are missing and loose nails or exposed nails as well as dark or discoloured patches on your roof area. If you notice any of these things then it is strongly advised that you get a roof contractor out to view your property as repairs will most likely need to be carried out.

Roofs can be constructed out of several types of material such as shingles, tile, metal or slate as well as using materials such as tar, bitumen, rolled or rubber roofing as well as PVC. The type of materials that are used on your roof depends on what material is currently being used on your roof, your location, the average climate of your location as well as the desired look and maintenance of your roof.

Most domestic buildings such as houses have a sloped/pitched roof. The pitch of this roof is determined by the angle at which the roof rises, from the lowest to the highest point. There is also two essential parts to a roof, the support structure and the outer skin. The outer skin can be made up of several materials such as slate, felt or title. This outer skin sits on the support structure of the roof.

As well as the material of the actual roof, there are two other essential aspects that make up the roofing of your house that also need to be kept maintained, the first of which is guttering. The purpose of guttering is to channel rain water from the roof and down a drainpipe, which takes it directly into a drainage system. This stops the walls of your property suffering from dampness. The second aspect is installation. The installation of your roof controls the heat. Without proper installation your home will lose most if not all of its heat.

If you do discover problems with the roof, guttering or installation of your home it is highly important that you hire a professional to fix these problems as trying to do it yourself could result in disastrous consequences.