When shingles fail, they do not always just fall or blow off your roof. Sometimes, they break, losing corners or cracking down the center while remaining attached to your roof. If you're like most homeowners, you may stare up at your broken shingles and wonder what, if anything, you should do about them. A roofing contractor can help. Here's how they are likely to handle the issue.
Replace the Broken Shingles
Broken shingles are no longer able to do their job. Water can seep into any cracks that the shingles have, which will accelerate their deterioration. If even a little water gets through or under the damaged shingles, it may seep into the roof deck, eventually leading to rot. To prevent this further damage, your roofer should remove and replace the damaged shingles. They'll just pry them off and put some new shingles down in their place.
Inspect Your Ventilation and Insulation
Shingles can break for a number of reasons. However, it is often because the attic space underneath those shingles is getting too hot. Heat then passes directly through the shingles to a degree that they are not designed to withstand. This causes the adhesive in the shingles to weaken and become brittle, and then the shingles start to crack and break.
Too-hot attics occur when you have a lack of roof vents, a lack of insulation, or both. So, your roofer may add some new vents to your soffits or recommend adding another layer of insulation to your attic. This will help keep your attic cooler so your new shingles don't also break prematurely.
Inspect Your Gutters
Another common reason for shingle breakage is blocked or broken gutters. If the gutters can't properly drain water off of your roof, then the roof will stay moist for too long. This can cause the shingles to break down faster than they should. Clearing the gutters or changing the angle at which they are attached can keep them flowing freely. This will help protect your future roof and prevent additional shingle breakage. Most roofers do work with gutters, too. If your roofers don't work with gutters, they can refer you to someone who does.
If your shingles break, it is important to have them replaced. But your roofers will also want to look into why they broke so they can make changes to prevent the same issues from popping up again. For more information, contact a roofing company near you.
