Maintaining Your Cedar Roofing System

A cedar roof system is widely regarded as one of the most aesthetically pleasing home additions. They add a lovely warm texture to your home, significantly improving your home’s curb appeal.

Cedar roofing is a great way to add some natural elements to your home. They provide homes with a woody aroma and are great temperature regulators, which means they are suitable for homes in cold and warm climates.

However, as great as they may be, cedar roofing systems are notorious for their maintenance needs. One might be fooled into thinking that because they’re a natural product that they’d be able to fend for themselves against the elements. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Here are some things that you can do to keep your cedar roof looking better for longer.

Removing Vegetation and Debris

Cedar is a natural material made from cedarwood. Because of this, organisms and other sorts of vegetation are more likely to grow on or in between cedar roofing shingles than other roofing materials. This growth is also more likely to occur if your roof is regularly exposed to moisture.

A warm, moist environment like your cedar roof is the perfect place for mold, algae, and mildew to grow. When these organisms are allowed time on a home’s cedar shakes and shingles, they can cause extensive damage that will likely require costly repairs or even a replacement.

Roofing systems are often the landing spots for debris like fallen leaves, tree branches, and pine cones. These things, however, are not only fire hazards but also block water from escaping your roof. Regularly removing dirt and debris is the best solution for prolonging your roof’s lifespan and keeping it in working condition.

Treating Your Cedar Roof

If you’ve ever owned large wood furniture or have wood finishings around your home, then you know that wood needs to be treated regularly to maintain its strength and visual appeal.

There are many cedar treatments available for you to improve your cedar roofing system’s performance, some of which include fire repellents, water repellents, fungicides, algaecides, and more. Depending on your home’s environment, these treatments can be applied to your roof every 1 to 3 years.

Maintaining Your Gutter System

We all know that gutters are key to removing water from your roof. But did you also know they’re an essential part of maintaining the look and longevity of cedar roofs? Standing water on a cedar roof is one sure way for mold and bacteria to grow and eat away at your roofing system.

Need help with keeping your cedar roofing system looking good and in working order? Give AWS Restorations a call today for all your cedar roofing needs.