The roof of your home serves a variety of purposes, but one of the most important is to keep moisture out. Preventing moisture from entering your home is crucial to maintaining structural integrity, maximizing energy efficiency, and preventing mold growth as well as wood rot. A roof is comprised of many different parts and materials, though, so there are a number of different moisture-mitigating tactics you can implement via your roof. In case you want to know how to protect your home against moisture intrusion, let’s look at how your roof can help you accomplish this.
- Flashing
Where there are protrusions from your roof, like in the case of a chimney, ventilation pipes, or anything else, flashing is used to prevent water intrusion. Flashing is used around the edges of chimneys and other protrusions to prevent water from seeping into the cracks between the shingles and protruding objects. There are different types of flashing like regular flashing, liquid flashing, and step flashing. If you’re wondering what is step flashing, it’s the type of flashing used to seal the transition points between your roof and vertical walls. This type of flashing is especially critical to avoiding moisture infiltration in areas where ceiling stains and mold growth could pose an immediate health risk.
- Tiling
While wooden shingles are incredibly vulnerable to mold growth and rot, other types like slate tiles, are not. In fact, a slate roof is one of the most impenetrable roofing types when it comes to moisture infiltration. Slate is completely impervious to water intrusion and when sealed properly, can last up to 150 years.
- Metal/Asphalt Roofing
Water isn’t only kept at bay by things like flashing and tiling, both metal and asphalt roofing are also great additions to your roof if you’re looking to maximize protection against water infiltration. Metal roofing is naturally water resistant and makes for the easy drainage of water because of its smooth surface. With a properly installed metal roof, you can rest easy knowing that stormwater is draining quickly and efficiently during storms and there’s no chance for any water to infiltrate your home from above. Asphalt is another common roofing material that does a lot to protect your home from water infiltration. Many asphalt shingles are impermeable and they’re typically layered on your roof in a way that prevents water from going against the flow of gravity and into the cracks between your shingles. Having a roof underlayment beneath your asphalt shingles is also an additional layer of moisture protection. If any water droplets do happen to get in between your shingles, they’ll be met by a solid, impermeable layer of material designed to stop water in its tracks. Your Roof is a Key Player in Keeping Your Home Clean and DryIf you want to prevent moisture infiltration as best as possible, you’d do well to start by addressing your roof. A well-protected roof with products like flashing, slate tiling, and insulation will prevent mold and rot from taking root in your roof and attic. Damp proofing your below-grade walls is also integral to protecting and keeping moisture out of your home from top to bottom. If you want to keep your home as dry as possible, we recommend implementing all three of the above products where possible. Brian Jeffries is the content director for the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.
