If you have owned a home in Arizona for any length of time likely spent quite a bit of time and money in the remodel business. That is remodeling your own home. No matter the remodeling project most people never consider the roof. Roofs just aren’t, well...sexy.

Flash forward a few years, things have changed. Remodeling is certainly not the hobby it used to be mostly because we are reluctant to over invest in our homes. Some schools of thought are that our homes were never supposed to be short term investments. Not too long ago there were even tax penalties for capital gains if you sold your home more than once in a lifetime. Perhaps it is time for a little perspective. When we lived in our homes for a lifetime, we protected them to last a lifetime.

So now that we have gained some perspective. What does matter? Especially now, when we are most reluctant to over spend on our homes is when the primary expenditures should be with a goal of protecting the home, its systems and its contents. Preventing larger expenses like leaks, water soaked drywall and even mold is the new hot trend. Don't wait for the roof to fail before you take action to protect that investment.

Here are some hot tips to keep your roof system fully functioning allowing you to avoid the bigger expenses associated with roof system failure.

1. Appreciate your roof- it is the structure that protects all the other systems in your home.
2. Flat roofs: A flat roof well maintained has the sustainability to last indefinitely. A flat roof should have some maintenance every 5 years. Maintenance should include removal of debris, re sealing of penetrations and in most cases repairs and coating. Ignored and your small maintenance expenditure could every turn into a larger re-roof expenditure.
3. Tiles roofs: This is the classic good news, bad news scenario. The good news is the tile will likely last you a lifetime, but the bad news is your underlayment should be looked at every 10-12 years. The underlayment is the waterproofing component. Heads up: due to economic conditions many tile manufacturers have gone out of business- this caused difficulty in finding tile matches to many existing roofs. When tile is removed to replace the underlayment- tiles will be broken. Your licensed roofing contractor will be able to identify if this will be a problem for your particular roof.
4. Shingle roofs: Although most shingles these days come with lengthy warranties, the truth is maintenance is not only the key to protecting the roof, but the key to keeping those warranties in place. We recommend Shingle roofs should be evaluated every 5-8 years. Roofs should be cleared of debris, penetrations should be resealed every 5 years or so, and if you are going to have solar, cable or new HVAC installed be sure to have the new roof penetrations handled by a licensed roofing contractor.
5. Remember: protecting the roof is protecting the house- your home. Hire a reputable, licensed Arizona Roofing contractor. It matters!