Before the summer period comes around in Austin Texas, one of the things in your mind is how to protect your roof against the scorching sun that is typical of this season. Heat does a lot of damage to your roof and can reduce your roof’s lifespan.
The heat that is trapped in your roof can weaken the material and break it down over time. This makes you want to protect your roof from it.
To avoid these extreme situations, it is wise to protect your roof before the summer comes around. Although having trees close to your roof helps to shield it from the direct impact of the sun, it doesn’t shield the entire roof from the sun. Also, not everyone has trees close to their roofs.
This is why it is essential to explore creative ways to shield your roof from the summer sun in Austin Texas. This article explores some ways you can protect your roof from direct contact with the sun.
Why You Need To Protect Your Roof
Your home represents one of the biggest investments of your life, and your roof provides structural support that keeps the entire home together. The structural support provided by the roof is essential for every home, and protecting it from damage and deterioration should be one of your top priorities.
How to protect your roof from the summer sun in Austin Texas
Instead of your home getting hot and consuming more energy to keep it cool as a result of the direct impact of the sun on your roof, there are many ways you can help the situation. Here are some ways you can protect your roof from the summer sun:
Using cool shingles
Using cool asphalt shingles is a smart move when protecting your roof from the hot summer sun in Austin Texas. These shingles are better at reflecting the sun because they contain granules that are specially coated.
The essence of using this kind of shingles is that they make a better work of solar reflection that reduces the impact of the sun on your roof. If your roof is made of metal shingles, wood, or some other material, it can still be coated for better performance during summer.
Inspect Your Shingles
Extreme weather conditions such as storms, high winds, and hail can damage the shingles on your roof, and having a proper routine check on your roof for signs of damage is necessary to prevent exposing your roof to more damage.
When looking at your shingles, check for missing shingles, broken shingles, cracked or curled shingles, dented shingles, and shingle granule buildup in gutters. If you find any of these problems you can call a local roofer to help inspect your roof thoroughly and repair any damages found and prevent it from getting worse.
Using reflective gravel
Reflective gravel is an essential way to keep your roof safe from the scorching sun. They are suitable for use on flat roofs. You can strategically place the gravel on your roof for them to reflect away the sun.
An advantage of this option is that reflective gravels are easily accessible. It will not take too much effort to find reflective gravels around. Also, they are economical to use. Reflective gravels do not cost too much and are often within most people’s budgets.
With these gravels, you can keep your home cool, save energy and be more comfortable during the summer period in Austin Texas.
Planting rooftop garden
Planting a garden on your roof is a smart way of protecting it from the sun. The garden serves the dual purpose of providing you with plants while also shielding your roof from direct contact with the sun. You can have pots or boxes of plants covering a large area of your roof.
A factor you have to consider is that your roof needs to be strong enough to handle the plant. The weight of the plant should not weigh down your roof. It is advisable to examine your roof and ensure that this is a viable option before you proceed with it.
You can invite a professional roofer to examine the structure. If it happens to be too fragile to carry the weight of pot plants, you can explore other means of protecting yourself from the summer sun.
Another factor you have to consider when planting a rooftop garden is that you have to tend the plants regularly. It will require your attention as though it is a regular ground garden. You have to water the plants, weed the garden, and carry out other maintenance routines.
Although the rooftop garden will not cover your entire roof, it will cover a large area that will significantly reduce the impact of the sun on the roof. Consequently, the extent to which your house will also be heated will be reduced.
While tending to your roof garden, ensure that you have a well-thought-out plan for watering your plants. You can use a hose to get water up there or maintain an ample water supply on the roof. Once again, ensure that the roof is strong enough to carry the weight of your plant and water.
Use polyurethane foam
Polyurethane foam will shield your roof from the direct impact of this sun. This seal will not only protect your roof from heat but will also make it waterproof. Before you install this shade, you need to rid your roof of every dirt and dust.
Use insulation
Insulation does not only work for wintertime. It is also a great way to protect your roof from the scorching summer sun in Austin Texas. Insulation is a perfect way to keep the heat out of the roof. With the heat out of the roof, your home will be cool.
Install vents in your roof
If the sun heats your roof and the heat is trapped in there, the roof can get damaged over time. So when the summertime comes up, ensure to install vents in the roof. Intake and exhaust vents are effective for releasing trapped heat from your roof.
When to Call Austin Roof Royale, Your Trusted Roofing Professional
The roof over your head is an essential part of your home and very important, but not as important as your safety. Roofing jobs such as roof repairs and roof inspection that require climbing the ladder can be dangerous for homeowners and we recommend that you leave it to a well-trained roofing contractor to handle.
Our team of professional roofing contractors can find problems you might not be aware of and help fix small roofing problems before they become big roofing problems quickly. Get in Intouch with the best Austin roofer and protect your roof from the scorching summer sun that affects your roof.
Conclusion
The summer weather has many advantages. However, having a hot home and consuming much energy with cooling systems are some reasons why it can get uncomfortable. But there are ways you can help the situation. Using cool shingles, installing reflective gravels, and planting roof gardens are viable ways to keep the impact of the sun minimal.
