Don's Roof Tips for Middle Tennessee Homeowners

I'm Don Hane, owner of Roof Troops and a Navy Combat Veteran. These are the ten things I wish every homeowner in Middle Tennessee knew about their roof. None of them need a ladder, and most of them take five minutes. They'll save you money, and a few of them will save you from the wrong roofer.

1. Look at your gutters after hail, not just your roof

After a hailstorm, I don't start on the roof. I start at the gutters and downspouts. Soft aluminum dents easily, so if you see fresh dings on your gutters, the shingles above them took hits too. You can check that from your driveway in two minutes.

2. Granules in the gutter are your roof talking

Those little sand-like grains in your gutters are the granules off your shingles. A few after a new roof is normal. A lot on a roof that's 12 or 15 years old tells me it's wearing thin. A lot right after a hailstorm tells me it got hit.

3. Pipe boots fail before shingles do

If I had to bet on where a 10 year old roof will leak first, I'd bet on the rubber boot around a plumbing vent pipe. Tennessee sun cracks that rubber long before the shingles give out. It's a small fix if you catch it early.

4. Check your attic after a hard rain

Once or twice a year, after a good soaking rain, take a flashlight into the attic. Look for dark spots on the wood, damp insulation, or rusty nail tips. Water usually shows up there months before you see a stain on the ceiling.

5. Never power wash a shingle roof

I see it every spring. Someone power washes the black streaks off their roof and blasts the granules off with them. Those streaks are algae, they're cosmetic, and several shingle warranties exclude damage from power washing. Use a low pressure cleaner made for roofs, or leave it alone.

6. Keep limbs off the roof

A branch rubbing your shingles in the wind works like sandpaper. It also drops leaves into the valleys and gives squirrels a highway to your attic. Keep limbs trimmed back so they don't touch or hang over the roof.

7. Clean gutters after the leaves fall, not before

Folks love to clean gutters on the first cool weekend in October. Then the oaks drop everything in November and they're full again. In most of Middle Tennessee, wait until the leaves are down, then clean them once and do it right.

8. Take photos of your roof before storm season

Snap a few photos of your roof from the yard every spring. Date them. If a storm comes through and you have to file a claim, before-and-after photos are worth more than anything I can tell your insurance company.

9. Ask a roofer for three things before you sign

Before you let anyone on your roof after a storm, ask for a local address, a Tennessee license you can look up yourself, and the names of jobs they've done in your county. A good roofer answers all three on the spot. And nobody honest offers to cover your deductible.

10. Small leaks are never small

A drip in a closet ceiling doesn't stay a drip. By the time water shows inside, it's been soaking the decking and insulation for a while. Call when you see the first stain. An inspection is free, and a small repair now beats new decking later.

Related: Seasonal roof checklist · How to spot a storm chaser · Roofing glossary