Many homeowners love trees around their homes. Trees can provide shade, windbreaks, habitats and beautiful landscaping for your yard. What’s not love about trees? Natural tree growth can cause damage to your roof and other home systems, especially if they are near your house.
These are the top reasons nearby trees could pose a danger to your roof.
Shingles Damage from Impact
Some trees are more fragile than others. Cottonwood trees, for example, can easily drop branches. These trees can drop branches of any size on your roof shingles quite often. However, branches can be dropped from trees that are too high to the roof during wind events like a tropical storm.
There are several kinds of damage that can be caused by a tree branch falling onto your roof. The impact could cause granules to fall off the shingles’ surfaces. The second is that impact can cause the shingle mat to crack or be smashed.
Roof Structural Damage
Even more serious damage can be caused by large branches and entire trees falling on your roof. These events can cause structural damage to your roof deck, rafters, or even the attic walls. The size and location of the tree can also affect the living spaces of your home.
A mature tree will not fall on your house unless it is unhealthy or dead, except in extreme winds. You should remove any tree that is either dead or dying. Consider the area’s vulnerability to hurricanes and tropical storms before you decide to remove large trees near your home.
Leaks from Debris
Some trees are more messy than others. You should consider whether the tree will shed fruit, flowers, catkins, needles, etc. before you plant it in your yard. Many homeowners prefer neat deciduous trees that shed all their leaves in one fall.
You need to be aware of the buildup on your roof as well as in your gutters, regardless of whether you have tree debris that falls all at once. The roof debris can trap moisture, which can lead to roof leaks. Additionally, gutter debris can cause gutters to clog or overflow, which could also lead to water damage at the eaves.
Providing Access To Pests
Is there wildlife or pests in your area? You should make sure that all trees are cut back from your home if they do. Squirts and other pests like squirrels may easily climb a tree and then walk along a branch to reach your roof.
You should keep the entire tree 8 feet away from your home’s roof and walls. Although this sounds like a lot of work, small pests can be extremely determined and can jump well.
Moss Growth
Moss thrives in a warm, humid environment. An asphalt roof in Florida that is shaded by a large tree could be the ideal spot for moss growth. This is not good news as moss can cause damage to your roof.
Keeping the tree trimmed back is the best solution. However, moss can grow on roofs and cause damage. Professional treatment will be required to remove it.
These examples illustrate how trees, particularly those that are not well maintained, can pose a threat to your roof in many ways. You can avoid any problems by hiring professionals to maintain your roof and regularly maintaining your trees.
Reggie Reed Roofing today for more information about our roofing services. We provide residential roofing services, including repairs, inspections and installations.
This post was written by Reggie Reed! Reggie is a state-certified roofing contractor and co-owner of Reggie Reed Roofing, the best roofing contractors Clearwater FL. He is a 4th generation roofing contractor. RR Roofing offers a wide variety of roofing services for residential homes, apartment complexes, condos, commercial buildings, churches, and more. Reggie enjoys dedicating his spare time to helping underprivileged youth in his community and traveling with his family and friends.
