Your new roof and siding warranties are only as good as your plan to maintain your home. Without properly maintaining your roof and siding, especially in Seattle, you risk voiding their warranties and reducing their longevity. Warranties on your home are already costly. Why render that cost moot and pay even more money to have your roof and siding restored or replaced? This blog will arm you with the knowledge to enjoy the full life and warranty of your new roof and siding.

What does maintaining your roof and siding mean?

By definition, maintenance of your roof and siding means that effort will be made to keep (or, maintain) its present condition. If your roof currently has moss and algae, a maintenance program will keep that moss and algae. That’s not what you want. You want it removed, which is restoration. It may seem like we’re arguing semantics, but after cleaning thousands of homes and conversing with the same number of homeowners, we need to address this. 

For example, a homeowner hires us to clean their windows. While we’re on their property, we ask about cleaning their roof. “Oh, the roof is fine,” they say. After some probing, we learn they mean their roof does not need restoration, but they have no maintenance plan or even an awareness of the need for one. They are unknowingly on a path to void their roof’s warranty and pay for restoration or replacement later. Think about a maintenance plan for your home as staying in good physical condition. Do you want to let your body slip into needing to “get in shape” and repair the damage of unhealthy eating and sedentary living? Of course, not. Ideally, you regularly eat well and exercise, so you never have to get into restoration mode. The same is true of your home. You want a “like new” condition always maintained by hiring the right service provider. “Oh, gosh. Who would that be,” you wonder? Don’t worry; we’ll get there.

What happens to your roof and siding without maintenance?

Nature is always trying to reclaim its territory, including your roof and siding. Because nature never stops, there is no one-and-done option to keep your roof and siding in “like new” condition. You will always have to stay ahead of nature. Let’s look at the impacts of not having your roof and siding regularly serviced.

How does nature try to reclaim your roof?

As you’ve heard DAPrDAN say before, the Seattle climate is highly conducive to organic growth forming on your home. The high moisture content and lack of sunlight create a greenhouse effect on your roof, including under your solar panels, if you have them (note: stay tuned for an upcoming blog devoted to growth under your solar panels). This environment leads to organic growth (moss, algae, lichen, mildew), which is aesthetically unpleasant and leads to long-term damage.

Did you know that fallen debris on your roof can also lead to this organic growth? The debris decomposes, and its acidity gets into the roof, which creates a nutrient base that allows for organic growth, which results in aggressive root structures, and your roof’s decomposition. 

How does nature try to reclaim your siding? 

To demonstrate nature’s attempt to damage your siding, let’s assume that the manufacturer and installer or painter did everything correctly. If you don’t have a regular house wash, algae will grow on your siding, infiltrate the paint, and create bubbles and chips, accelerating the timeframe you have to have your house repainted. Same as the roof, its impact is more than just aesthetic. Events beneath the surface lead to more costly damage. 

How costly is the damage of not having a maintenance plan? 

The warranties for your roof and siding will be void if it’s shown that you failed to maintain your home correctly. If you need a roof or siding replacement and you attempt to invoke the warranty, the manufacturer will send their inspector to your home so they can identify ways you voided the warranty. If they find organic growth on the roof or siding, they’ll rightly claim the replacement is not due to a manufacturer issue. However, you don’t want to have just anybody maintain your roof and siding. Inspectors will also void your warranty if they prove your service provider caused the damage. For example, you NEVER want to pressure wash your roof, which will cause damage and void your warranty. Your contractor’s services must comply with your warranties.

Recently, we helped a homeowner looking to sell his home on Camano Island. Unfortunately, due to years of neglecting his roof, he had to choose between an $80,000 roof replacement and lowering the sales price by $80,000 before putting his home on the market. Luckily, he found DAPrDAN, and we were able to restore his roof to a “like new” condition, which resolved his $80,000 home-sale problem and added another ten years of unexpected longevity to the roof.

Before addressing how DAPrDAN restores and maintains our customers’ homes, let’s break down the $80,000 roof replacement this homeowner avoided. A typical DAPrDAN roof wash is about $1,500. Having this service annually, as we recommend, for 53 years would cost the same as the one-time roof replacement (and that’s without the increased cost of roofing materials). And, you get the benefit of having a “like new” roof for that length of time!

How does DAPrDAN keep you under the protection of your warranty?

Okay, we’re finally here. Our favorite part: how we can help you get the full value of your warranty. 

As you now know, if you’re not on a maintenance program now, DAPrDAN can restore your roof and siding to “like new.” Once we’ve done that, we highly recommend you get on a service plan to maintain your home’s longevity and remain under the complete protection of your roof and siding warranties. Even if you don’t hire DAPrDAN, we’d prefer to see you on a maintenance plan with another provider than none at all. 

If we are fortunate enough for you to hire us, here’s how we’d keep the promise made in the above paragraph (see this blog to learn more about how we keep our promises):

• Every 3 to 6 months, we clear away fallen debris before it can decompose (this is also a good time for us to clean your gutters). 

• At least once a year, though six months is ideal, we apply zinc oxide across your roof to create an unfriendly environment for moss spores to grow. This does not remove existing moss but prevents new moss growth. Additionally, this does not address algae. 

• Annually, we soft wash your roof and siding to remove organic growth like moss or algae. While this is technically a restorative service, your home will always be “like new” if you soft wash annually. Soft washing is a highly effective, gentle, and mild service that will not damage your roof and siding. This is our strongest recommendation.

To demonstrate our soft wash service, we have a customer in Everett whose house is a registered historical property. Its siding is old-growth painted cedar, a wood that is no longer readily available due to laws protecting these trees. Because this customer is part of a DAPrDAN maintenance program, its siding is always “like new.”

To keep your roof and siding “like new” and stay under your warranties’ protection, contact DAPrDAN.