When people buy a new home, they often prefer those with yards containing many mature trees. After all, fully-grown trees are beautiful and add curb appeal. Their twisted branches are shaped by wind and sun as they offer blooming flowers and shade. However, this affluence comes at a cost.
Although trees give a lot of benefits, they can also cause harm to your property. Worse situations may even require tree removal services. Here are seven significant ways trees can cause damage to your roof:
1. Wind Damage
In some areas, trees are planted near the house to act as a windbreak. In this case, the trees make it difficult for strong winds to get under the shingles and lift them up.
However, if you’re in an area with calm weather, having trees can increase the risk of shingle damage. For example, a mature tree can blow over in a storm. When this happens, the tree can land on the roof and cause severe damage.
2. Settling
The problem with large trees near your home is that the roots can damage your property. Seeds can cause structural issues, and they can draw moisture away from the foundation of your home.
This results in foundation issues that can shift your homes and roof structure. This structural damage cannot be ignored because of the harm it can bring to your utilities, from ventilation to plumbing pipelines.
3. Leaves
Leaves on your roof can cause problems in many different ways. For example, if you have heavy oak trees that shed in the fall, you will end up with acorns on your roof. Then, these acorns can puncture your shingles and fall into your attic.
If you need to learn more about the damage trees can do to your property, tree removal experts can help. They can perform a free inspection and tell you if your trees are causing damage to your home.
4. Weathering
Over time, a tree’s leaves and branches can wear down the shingles. Particularly if you have a gum tree on your property, you will notice that the leaves gradually dissolve. The dissolved gum goes on the shingles, lowering their ability to deflect water.
5. Disease
Although rare, tree disease can infect your roof. Unlike some other forms of tree damage, this can happen even if your tree is not directly touching your house.
One example is Ophiostoma ulmi. This fungus can cause decay in both the wood and the tree’s leaves. The leaves can then blow into your yard, where the disease can impact other plant life.
6. Roof Ice Dams
Ice dams form on metal roofs when the snow gets stuck in the gutters. Tree branches can create this problem by blocking the gutters preventing snow from leaving the roof’s surface.
The result is ice inside the gutters, which is the real danger. This can blow off in the winter, taking shingles with it.
7. Floorboards
If you have a tree that has taken root in your property, its roots can sometimes break through your floorboards. In this case, cracks can appear in the flooring. This can be costly as you wouldn’t just have to replace the damaged floor, but uproot the tree beneath.
You would need the help of professionals to perform such a task, then call your builder as well to check the home’s foundation for structural damage before any kind of repair can begin.
Conclusion
Damage from trees is unfortunate, but it’s avoidable. If you want to avoid the long-term expense of roof damage, you need to start now.
The essential thing is to manage the trees on your property. You should hire an arborist or landscaper to inspect your trees periodically. While you won’t prevent every problem, this will help you watch the larger risk factors.
You can also choose a roofing company to recommend suitable trees for your property. They will show you when to prune the trees, prune them, and choose the suitable tree species.
Finally, you can hire a roofing contractor to ensure your roof structure is in good shape. Doing so will help you avoid a problem before it gets worse.
If you need emergency tree services in Duluth, GA, Atlanta households and businesses have relied on ATL Tree Work to meet their demand since 2003. We pride ourselves in always giving our commercial and residential customers great results at reasonable costs. Contact us today!
