Tips for Repairing Your Roof

While the temperatures are starting to warm up a little, now is a great time to inspect your roof to see if it needs any minor repairs. With the spring and summer storms coming, you may start to notice some leaks or other repairs that need to be made. Cardinal Home Centers in Madison, Charlottesville, and Crozet carry Through the Roof, a versatile liquid patch that can help cover many fixes in your roof. Read more about this product and some of our other tips for repairing your roof.

Repairing Holes and Leaks

There is nothing worse than finding a leak in a rainstorm. Those leaks can create more significant problems over time if left as is, causing water damage and more damage to your roof. If possible, it is best to hire a contractor in the area that deals with common roof repairs and our team can help recommend a few names if you need someone. You may be able to take care of more minor repairs on your own. Cardinal Home Centers in Madison, Crozet, and Charlottesville offer a unique product, Through The Roof, that provides a fix for that.

Through the Roof is the clear, ultra-elastic roof repair caulk that permanently stops and prevents roof leaks. This product seals around various fixtures without a messy asphalt appearance and will not dry or crack. Through the Roof is a more versatile product and can be used with broken shingles, leaky gutters, and downspouts. This product is available both as a caulk-like and paste-like product.

Water Coming Down Chimney

One of the most common issues tied to roof repairs is water coming down your chimney. A few things can cause this water leakage:

1. The masonary around your chimney has gone bad
2. Roof flashing was not installed initially
3. The flashing on your roof has gone bad

As a worst-case scenario, this might be a sign that you need a new roof. If so, contact a local contractor for an estimate.

How to Replace Flashing

Roof flashing is a thinner material that helps to direct water away from critical areas of a roof. It is installed around vents, chimneys, and skylights and helps to prevent water from slowly dripping down into these areas. Cardinal Home Center carries galvanized, copper and PVC flashing for your home to match the design and needs you have. Flashing can be installed in two ways: either corner-flashing or step roof flashing with no wall corner.

1. Gently pry up the shingles surrounding or covering the damaged flashing. When working with step flashing, this may involve removing undamaged pieces of flashing as well.
2. Take your chisel and gently remove any asphalt cement you find.
3. If you caught the flashing problem before a leak began, there should be no damage to the underlying roof parts and structure. However, check for damage anyway. If you find damage, then you will have to get it repaired before reinstalling the flashing.
4. Now, reinstall the new flashing and shingles. Be sure to follow the proper order, as described above, especially when installing step flashing, to ensure the flashing will stand up to water.

Barn Roofs

Need to repair the roof on your barn or shed? Stop by our Madison store for our selection of metal roof panels from MasterRib. This popular and versatile metal roofing panel features classic looks. It is installed in a wide range of applications, including roofing for residential, commercial, and post-frame buildings. MasterRib metal roofing panels were designed with extra-wide ribs to increase strength and ease handling and roof installation. Another unique feature of the MasterRib metal roofing panel is the extra-large siphoning channel on the under-lap rib installed to provide extra leak resistance in the presence of extreme wind and rain loads.

If your roof needs another coat of paint, we also carry No-Mo Rust Metal Paint from Sampson Coatings. It is easy to apply and is designed for a light industrial coating environment. These coatings are ideal for properly prepared metal roofs, machinery, steel, non-ferrous metals, and masonry surfaces. These products are available in Hunter Green, Dark Green, White, Red, and Black.

Have more questions about roof repairs? Stop by our Madison and Crozet stores, or see our selection of Sampson paints at all three stores! Shop online or contact one of our stores!