Summertime in South Florida means hot temperatures, barbecues, and fun outdoors – but it also means the potential for heat-related damage to your roof. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what kinds of damage heat can do to your roof, as well as some tips on how to protect it.

The Damage Heat Causes

• One of the most common types of heat-related roof damage is “shingle curling.” Shingles are designed to lay flat against your roof, but when they get too hot, they can start to curl up at the edges. This can cause gaps in your roof that allow water and debris to enter, creating moisture damage. If you notice your shingles starting to curl, it’s important to have them repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
• Heat can also shrink shingles, leading the nails that hold the shingles in place to pop up, causing blisters in the shingles, which brings us to our next point.
• Another type of heat-related roof damage is blistering. This occurs when the roof surface gets so hot that the asphalt begins to bubble and form blisters. If your home has an attic or overhead crawl space, the rising heat could cause cracks and blisters in the asphalt roofing shingles. These blisters can eventually pop, leaving your roof vulnerable to water and debris. While blisters don’t always cause roof leaks, you may need to re-shingle the roof sooner than expected.
• The heat causes wood roof rafters, roofing joists, and roof decking to expand. Support beams that expand can therefore cause roof flashing sealant to stretch and break. Though metal flashing is more durable, sunlight can easily damage plastic flashing, which has a greater potential for water seepage and mold and mildew formation.

What are the Most Important Steps to Protect Your Roof from Heat-Related Damage?

• First, make sure that your attic is well-ventilated to keep the temperature down in the attic to deter your roof from getting too hot. A key benefit of ventilation in a warm-weather climate like South Florida is to keep your home’s cooling system from overworking. Another benefit of ventilation is that it prevents the damage that extreme heat and humidity can do to your roof. This is particularly important for newer, energy-efficient homes because they are built to be more air-tight, where condensation is more likely to occur. Air circulation helps keep heat and condensation from accumulating on the underside of roof sheathing which as we discussed above, can cause roof damage.
• Next, be sure to schedule your annual roof maintenance performed by a licensed and insured roofing professional. This will help to identify any potential threats before they become major issues.

If you follow these tips, you just might avoid extensive heat-related roof damage. However, should you recognize any problems with your roof, it’s important to have them repaired promptly, because ignoring damages today can lead to costly future damages.

If you suspect that your roof has been damaged by the heat, contact a professional roofing contractor immediately. If you’re native to the South Florida area, Native Roofing will be happy to provide you a free estimate. In business for nearly 25 years and serving Davie to Palm Beach and beyond, we’re South Florida’s leading roofing contractor and our team of experts will ensure that your home is kept cool this summer!