Why a Healthy Home Needs a Healthy Roof
It’s pretty obvious why you need to keep your roof watertight. But did you know it’s also very important to have a roof that can breathe properly too – that’s the role of roof ventilation.
If you have poor roof ventilation, you’ll get a build-up of moisture inside your home, which can create a list of issues – both for the house and the people who live in it.Every day, activities like cooking, showering, washing, and even breathing generate moisture, and some of this warm, moist water vapour finds its way into your roof cavity, where it settles on colder surfaces and condenses. And what might start as a relatively minor moisture problem can eventually end up as an expensive structural repair and/or health issues for the occupants.
How moisture affects the structural integrity of your home
It’s not just one thing – a damp roof cavity is the perfect environment for growing mould, which can end up rotting your timber framing. Dampness also reduces the effectiveness of your insulation, and if it gets into Gib ceiling linings, they’ll start to degrade, discolour and smell damp. Moisture will corrode metal roofing materials, which weakens the structure (which is a worry when it’s windy), and will eventually lead to perforations and leaks.
Protecting your family’s health
Mould and mildew thrive in damp environments, and exposure to mould can aggravate allergies, asthma, and lead to other unpleasant respiratory conditions. That’s why, if you want to live in a healthy home, managing water vapour and moisture condensation needs to be a high priority. And we can help you with that with a free roof health check.
The warning signs of poor roof ventilation
There are several telltale signs that your home may have a ventilation or moisture problem:
- Persistent condensation on windows, especially during winter.
- Musty smells in bedrooms, wardrobes or ceiling spaces.
- Black mould is appearing on ceilings and around cornices.
- Damp, discoloured or sagging ceiling insulation.
- Rust forming on metal roofing components or fixings.
- Visible moisture, mould, or decaying timber inside the roof cavity.
- Unusually hot upstairs rooms during summer.
And there’s a but! Having these symptoms doesn’t always mean your roof ventilation is inadequate. Leaks, poor insulation, and excessive indoor moisture can produce similar problems, so identifying the actual cause is essential – and that’s where DCM Roofing can help.
What can we do to improve roof ventilation?
If you’ve identified any of the signs of poor ventilation, the best thing to do is call us in for an inspection of your house. We’ll take a close look, and we’ll also consider the causes that might have caused the moisture accumulation problem in the first place.
Improved airflow and moisture control
Depending on your roof’s design and construction, the solutions we propose could include installing better-designed soffit and eaves, and/or installing ridge vents that are designed to encourage effective airflow through the roof cavity. Adding roof ventilators might also help, but having said that, better ventilation isn’t always the whole answer. That’s why we look further than just your roof.
In some cases, we find that improving moisture control or adding extra insulation is a more effective solution than extra roof vents. As part of our roof health check, we’ll make sure that your bathroom extractor fans and kitchen range hoods blow their moist air directly outside, rather than into the roof cavity. We’ll also look to see if there is excessive air leakage through your ceilings and check that your insulation and roofing underlay is doing its job properly.
Let DCM Roofing help protect your home
At DCM Roofing, we’ve spent over 20 years looking after roofs throughout Christchurch and Canterbury. Our climate isn’t the easiest on roofing materials, and excessive moisture is a significant issue in homes throughout the region. That’s why it’s so important to identify ventilation problems before they turn into expensive repairs or chronic health problems.
If you’re concerned about condensation, moisture damage or the condition of your roof, get in touch. Call us in to get a health check for your roof, and we will identify the problems and recommend practical solutions to help protect your home for years to come.
Further Reading