Bituminous tile roofing: operation, maintenance, repair

Recommendation points

• How to operate a bituminous tile roof
• Highlights of soft roof care
• Maintenance rules for shingles
• Repair technology
• How to fix minor damage to roofing carpet
• How to replace damaged shingles petals

The roof of a house covered with bituminous tiles is a completely practical and justified option. Maybe because soft roofing materials do not require special maintenance and are easily repaired? How to operate, maintain, repair bituminous tiles – in this article.

How to operate a bituminous tile roof

The properties of shingles make this roofing material attractive not only because of its expressive decorative effect. Bituminous shingles, among other things, can serve for many years, but subject to proper operation. What is meant by correct operation:

• Periodic inspection of all structural elements.
• Cleaning of accumulations of debris during the warm season.
• Ensuring high-quality runoff of rain and melt water.
• Checking the performance of ventilation ducts.
• Removal of snow drifts and ice in the autumn-winter season.

Finally, if during the next inspection of the roof, defects in the coating are found, damage to individual tiled petals and other parts of the roof, you will have to do repairs.

Highlights of soft roof care

The inconvenience of maintaining a soft roof is due to some design issues. Among such moments:

• the presence of steep slopes;
• complex geometric structure of the roof;
• a large number of additional elements (chimneys, roof windows, ventilation ducts, gutters, protective panels, etc.).

Of course, the complexity of maintenance is also expressed in the need to perform work at height.

Spring-summer maintenance of bituminous pavement, as a rule, comes down to performing a roof survey and performing cleaning work on the surface. The best option is a wet cleaning technique. Tool – water hose and soft brush. Large debris is removed from the roof by hand, and mud, dust, sand deposits are washed out by the pressure of water and cleaned out with a brush. During the cleaning work, the coating is simultaneously inspected for mechanical damage, cracks, dips, delamination.

In autumn, the main task of maintenance is to free the shingles from the leaves falling from the trees. Dry woody leaves and branches should not be left on the roof in any way, since later, in the process of decay, this natural material forms a favorable environment for the formation of mossy growths. As an additional protective measure against the appearance of moss on the roof, special chemical compounds (Boracol 10Rh and similar) can be used.

Removing snow and ice in the winter is one of the topical issues for home owners who have installed flexible shingles in their time. In this case, the corrugated structure of the roof surface (especially options with gentle slopes) becomes a significant obstacle to the spontaneous melting of the snow mass. The accumulation of large amounts of snow is a high risk of mechanical deformation and, as a result, damage to the tile carpet..

The steeply sloped roof design allows for better snow flow, but this presents another problem. Spontaneous melting of snow can also cause mechanical damage in the places of edging of pipe, ventilation ducts, in the area of ​​the shell of the roof windows. Snow mass can damage gutter systems, cornices, panels.

Conclusion – manual cleaning of shingles from snow and ice is required. True, there are other solutions, for example, a roof heating device using a heating cable.

Maintenance rules for shingles

Maintenance of flexible roofing material must be carried out, observing some rules for the production of service work:

• Wear soft, non-rough footwear and protective gloves.
• Use special light ladders and safety ropes.
• Eliminate the use of sharp metal tools for cleaning the roof from debris, build-ups, deposits, snow and ice.
• Minimize walking on one route on the roof.

Snow removal technology assumes layer-by-layer snow removal. At the same time, stripping is carried out taking into account the remainder of a small layer of snow up to 10 cm thick on the roof. Removal of the snow mass should be performed with a wooden or plastic tool. Strict observance of these rules is a kind of protection of the roof from flexible tiles from damage and a guarantee of the durability of the coating.

Repair technology

Homeowners with shingle shingles may face the need for minor, medium and major repairs. The first two are usually done independently. Overhaul in most cases requires the involvement of professional performers. The services of specialized firms will certainly be required for small repairs, if the roof slopes have a large angle of inclination and it is simply impossible to work without safety devices. For any repair option, a single rule becomes relevant – soft roofing materials are repaired at an ambient temperature of at least + 5 ° С.

How to fix minor damage to roofing carpet

Small damages mean partial defects in the form of cracks, small punctures, detachments formed on the area of ​​a separate tiled petal. Such damage is repaired with special bitumen-based sealants. The defective place is cleaned of dirt, degreased, after which the sealant is applied to the damaged area.

How to replace damaged shingles petals

If damaged petals are found on a soft roof (with gaps, wide deep cracks, multiple punctures), medium repairs will be required. You can also do this type of repair yourself. Damaged petals will have to be replaced. What is required for this:

• new tile sheet
• bituminous sealant
• knife for cutting soft bituminous material
• metal spatula
• a hammer
• nail pull

The sequence of work to replace a defective tiled petal is as follows:

1. Using a metal spatula, carefully peel off and lift the tiled petal of the second top row, opposite the defective petal, thereby opening access to the fastener element (nail, self-tapping screw) of the damaged petal.
2. Peel off the left and right petals of the first top row carefully using a metal spatula, counting from the row of the damaged element, thus providing access to the tiled sheet with the damaged petal.
3. Using a knife, cut through the material around the head of the fastener, cut and remove the damaged tab, then remove the remaining fastener using a nail pusher.
4. Prepare another petal by cutting out a new tile sheet.
5. Lay a new element in place of the damaged one, having previously processed the cuts (degrease, dry, fill with bitumen sealant) and secure with nails or self-tapping screws.

After such a renovation, if everything is done in the exact sequence and carefully, the roof made of soft tiles will look like new. For such cases of damage, there is another option – applying patches over the defective area. Usually, this technique is used if there is no way to delaminate the roofing carpet and raise the elements of flexible shingles adjacent to the damaged petal..

Self-repair is perhaps limited to this. More serious damage, up to defects in the lathing, is usually performed by professional roofers.