Roofing Care Tips after Christmas

Christmas lights on the roof are very beautiful and quite a site to behold during this festive season. However, they must be installed with care and without any damage to the roof. Their installation can be quite a task for the amateur and most often than not professional expertise is required so that the roof stays intact. Additionally, since electrical connections are required, they must not be a hazard to the safety of the home; no live wires should be left bare especially since it may be wet during the holiday season. Such lights once connected must be switched off at bedtime and when no one is at home.

Safe Removal of Christmas Lights

Once the holidays are over, Christmas lights should not stay on the roof longer than is necessary otherwise they may become an eyesore. Since they are meant to stay up for short periods of time, their electrical cabling also tends to be thin and so if they stay up for too long, these may be worn out and expose electrical wires and cause a fire hazard or electrocution. The lights must be switched off and disconnected from the main power outlet before removing them from the roof. This is a safety precaution for the one doing the uninstalling and also the entire home.

The same care used when installing them must be adhered to when uninstalling the lights; the ladder must be firm and secure. The climber must wear non slip shoes and the roofing must not be damaged in any way by stepping on the firmer parts of the roof to prevent it from caving in due to the extra weight. All nails, tacks or other such tools used to secure the lights on the roof must be removed carefully to avoid damage to the roof or the electrical cabling.

Roofing Care Tips

Without a roof there would be no interior and therefore no interior decorating so it is important to have roofing installed properly and well taken care of. The roof is meant to keep off natural elements like rain, sun and the wind from the house while at the same time it has to endure these harsh conditions. So to start with, the materials used for roofing must be hardy enough to withstand these, yet beautiful enough to accentuate the house design and style. It is therefore important to conduct regular inspection of the roofing to ascertain that it is still in good condition.

Cleaning Roof Gutters and Chimneys

Proper roof installation will place vents for ventilation at the top of the roof and also at the base to ease movement of hot air at the top and cool air into the roofing at the base. These should be evenly distributed and at the right dimensions to encourage maximum airflow to all portions of the roof. Gutters and downspouts simply take water away from the roof and to a location far from the foundation. They can be made of aluminum, vinyl, tin, copper, wood or other such material that complements the roofing. Gutters need to be cleaned regularly to rid them of leaves and other debris and also checking for leaks and fixing them promptly.

Flashing connects the joints and seams in a roof which are the locations where leaks are most likely to occur and so it must be inspected regularly to establish that it is still firmly in place. The roof surface needs to be cleaned regularly to rid it of debris and moss which may lead to leakages. Houses with chimneys need to have these inspected, repaired and cleaned regularly so that the interior decorating is not damaged by soot from the fireplace.

Roofing Materials as Stylish Finishing

A house can never be complete without a roof, so when thinking of interior decorating for a home, the roof is a necessary inclusion. In the recent past, it is becoming increasing common to see colourful roofing dotting the landscape. Apart from offering essential protection for the interior of a house against natural elements, the roof contributes greatly in the way a house looks. The choice of roofing materials to use is greatly determined by the locality and hence the prevailing weather as much as personal taste and style.

Economical Choice of Roofing Materials

A key factor to consider when selecting roofing materials is the cost since this is a long term investment. Different roofing materials have different price ranges. In Kenya the most pocket friendly of them is the thatch roof going for less than two hundred shillings per square metre. However this type of roof does nothing to complement a modern town house though it is common in rustic and tropical themes. Iron sheet roofing of different gauges cost from a little over two hundred to five hundred shillings per square metre with concrete tiles going for about four hundred shillings. Clay tiles cost about six hundred and have the advantage of being light weight and rain runoff from them is very safe as they contain no paint and lead. These types of tiles also work well in different climates and décor themes.

A roofing style that is gaining popularity makes use of glass. This though stylish is quite expensive to mount due to the delicate nature of glass. Ultimately, the choice of roofing materials should be able to satisfy the individual home owner’s taste as well as being suitable for the existing weather conditions. Different roofing styles require unique materials that will bring out the best in this essential interior decorating aspect.