The article What are Some of the Top Dangers of Having a Leaky Roof? originally appeared on Armor Roofing LLC.
There are a range of household problems that you can procrastinate on when it comes to fixing, but a leaky roof is not one of them. This is because the roof usually plays a very vital role of protecting the contents and occupants of the building from the elements. Moreover, a damaged and leaky roof is likely to compromise your buildings insulation and create different hazards for you. Below are some of the main dangers of having a leaky roof;
1.Mold and Mildew Problems
Ideally, mold and mildew are known to thrive under moist conditions and a leaky roof will no doubt facilitate their growth. They do not just attack wood but can also dwell on your walls, tiles, carpets and a range of other places within the house, hence causing extensive damage to your home. Furthermore, these substances are also known to cause different health problems including inflammations, rhinitis, asthma and different allergies among your family members or employees if it is a commercial space.
2.Structural Damage
When water seeps through your roof, it might drip right onto the floor of your attic, run along the underside of your roof decking, onto the wall and along the framing. With time, the wet wood may start rotting and lose its strength. In addition, the roof might start sagging, the walls bowing while the foundation could become waterlogged and spongy. Moreover, the affected paint may also become darkened, the ceiling plaster bubble and expand. The leaking water may also damage the plaster and paint on nearby walls, ceiling-mounted lights as well as fans.
3.Electric Shock and Fire Hazards
When there is water leaking through your roofing, it is likely to come into contact with the electrical wiring in the attic or ceiling. If there are any uncovered wires especially within the metal junction boxes, short-circuiting is likely to occur, causing a fire outbreak. Moreover, if there is water seeping around some open electrical wiring, it is likely to become electrically-charged and any person or pet that touches it could be electrocuted. If you have noticed such a leak, you need to switch off power to any circuit that is running through the affected areas and call a qualified electrician to come and fix the problem.
4.Higher Utility Bills
A leaking roof is also likely to result in high utility bills. As the water intrudes into the building, it may damage the insulation in the attic area. Ideally, the fiberglass or cellulose will become saturated and hence take longer to dry up. If you have postponed your roof repair for long, the chronic water intrusion will most likely deplete the insulation in a very significant way. This will result in the free flow of air between the inside and outside of your home or commercial building. During summer, hot air will flow in from the outside causing your air conditioners to work harder to cool the room and in winter cold air from the outside will flow in quite easily, forcing your heaters to step up the game in order to keep your space warm. This will in turn result in higher electricity bills.
5.Slip and Fall Accidents
A severely leaking roof is likely to cause water to pond or puddle on your floor. Although you may not see this as a huge risk, it is likely to cause serious slip-and-fall accidents especially if you have an active child or an elderly person in the building. In fact, such falls have been known to cause serious injuries such as broken legs, arms and neck as well as life threatening ones such as head, brain, and spinal cord injuries. If you are not careful, you could be sued for negligence and pay a fortune in liability fines, or even serve a jail term.
6.Bad Odors
Even after the removal of mold and mildew, the odor is likely to remain in your home for some time, even if the leak has been repaired. And this is usually because of the wet insulation within the attic area that did not dry up or was not replaced properly. This can be annoying and embarrassing especially when you have visitors around. It is therefore very important to check, remove and replace any wet, smelly or stained insulation. In case the smell is emerging from an exterior wall, you may want to consider removing the dry wall and replacing the insulation as well.
7.Equipment or Inventory Damage
Depending on the location and size of the leak, your business operations can actually be interrupted or even completely halted by a leaky roof. For instance, water may leak into your space through a damaged roof on your business premise, and sip into your equipment, onto your materials or even filling up the entire business or office space, making it difficult or completely impossible for you to carry on with your operations. This could in turn result in costly downtimes, expensive repair and even lead to the complete closure of the business.
8.Costly Roof Repair and Replacements
Even though a leak in your roofing may start as a small and negligible problem that you can ignore, sweeping the issue under the carpet will not make it to disappear. In any case, you will only be postponing the problem and by the time you realize it needs to be fixed, the problem may have worsened and the damage may have become bigger. In such a case, you may have to part with a substantial sum of money to get the roof either repaired or replaced. It would therefore be much wiser to fix the problem at its initial stages as this would be easier and less costly.
If you want to avoid all these problems, then you should get a professional roofer to inspect your roofing on a regular basis and ensure that any problem is fixed early enough before it worsens. Fortunately, there are reputable roofing companies such as Armor Roofing LLC that are staffed with seasoned roofers that can help with the installation, inspection, repair and even replacement of virtually every roofing option. These can come in handy especially if you have a leaky roof that needs to be repaired.
We offer free no obligation inspections, so give us a call today at (720) 513-4142!
The post What are Some of the Top Dangers of Having a Leaky Roof? appeared first on Armor Roofing LLC.
No comments:
Post a Comment