Many talented hobby craftsmen would like to repair their roofs themselves. From driving away martens to cleaning the gutter – Here you can find out where you can lend a hand and when it is better to call a roofer.
We will easily find a suitable roofer or carpenter in your area for you. Here you can find Roofers in Burlington.
They are cute but unsuitable as roof dwellers: martens, more precisely stone marten. They like to stay in unoccupied attics.
Even if a marten is not an imminent threat to you or your pets, it is better to drive the animal away. Because it can damage the roof insulation considerably. Mold formation is the result.
Recognize The Animal Lodger
The first indications that a marten has taken root in your attic are:
- Crawling noises in the morning or evening,
- Traces of feces in the attic,
- Leftovers of food,
- Damage to the roof insulation.
A marten is not in your attic all the time. He uses the attic as a place of retreat to sleep or eat protected. Note: the animals are most active between April and September.
Since martens are extremely shy, you will hardly be able to perceive their presence apart from the noises.
So, especially between April and September, you should keep an eye on everything in the attic more often.
If you find traces of excrement or leftover food there, you know that a marten is with you. In this case, be sure to check the roof insulation for damage.
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How to Protect Yourself from A Marten in the Roof
The best way to drive away the marten is with loud noises. It may be enough to go to the attic more often.
You can play it safe by leaving a radio on in the attic. If you still hear the marten, knock on the ceiling with a broom.
If you have succeeded in driving the marten away, you will need to close all possible loopholes and access routes.
And if there has never been a marten in your attic, you can take preventive measures: for example, by cutting off branches that the animal could use to climb onto your roof.
Loose roof tiles can also be entrance doors for the marten. Make sure you get a roofer to help you find loose tiles and never climb onto the roof yourself.
But don’t lock a marten in: If you try to break out, it will cause even greater damage. You are also not allowed to lock a marten out if he has young ones in the attic.
Raccoons Also Feel at Home in Attics
Another animal that has been spreading in Canada recently is the raccoon. He is an even more skilled climber than the marten.
Therefore, when taking protective measures, you should also make sure that his paws cannot get a hold on the gutter. A sheet metal strip or an acrylic sleeve is ideal for this.
Clean The Gutter
You should clean the gutter at least once a year. In doing so, you remove moss and leaves that have settled there.
Spring is the ideal time for this when there is already a lot of work to do.³ If there are many deciduous trees in your area, you should clean the gutter more often.
Cleaning is important to keep the gutters from clogging. If the water runs off in an uncontrolled manner, the facade can be damaged. Installing new gutters can be a long term solution here.
Tip: The foliage protection from our partner Rheinzink. This saves you from having to clean the gutter regularly in areas with lots of trees.
You can find out more about gutters in our advice article “Everything about roof drainage: types, structure & materials”.
Link Gutter Cleaning with Roof Maintenance
If you are skillful and free from giddiness, you can clean the gutter yourself. But you can also have a roofer or carpenter do this tedious and dangerous job. At the same time, he can check the roof for damage.
This is how you kill two birds with one stone: Regular maintenance of the roof is important and should also be done in spring. Incidentally, many maintenance contracts already include gutter cleaning.
Find out more about maintaining the value of your roof in our advice article “How long does a roof last?”.
Repair The Roof Yourself and Improve the Insulation with Under-Rafter Insulation
If your attic already has between-rafter insulation, but this is not sufficient to meet the legal requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), under-rafter insulation is a good choice.
The under-rafter insulation is easy to do. If you are technically gifted, you can repair the insulation on the roof yourself.
You Should Pay Attention to This When You Insulate Yourself
If you plan to repair the insulation on your roof yourself, first check carefully that the roofing, the insulation between the rafters, and the roof truss are completely intact. If in doubt, contact a professional.
Choose a good insulation material. We work with Is over, one of the leading manufacturers of insulation in Canada.
To carry out the work, you will need some tools to apply the insulation:
- Drilling machine
- Screwdriver
- Hammer
- Tape measure or folding rule
- Spirit level
- Saw
- Knife for cutting the insulation material
- Guideline
- Screws / nails
- Device for stapling
- Cartridge gun
- Safety glasses
Work precisely. Even small mistakes when attaching the new vapor barrier can lead to consequential damage such as mold growth.
Alternative: The Above-Rafter Insulation
Insulation under the rafter is not enough as the sole insulation. If your roof has not yet been insulated, then above-rafter insulation is the most effective method.
For this, however, the roof must be re-covered. You can read more about roof insulation in our advice article “The best roof insulation: This is what matters with roof insulation”.
Replace Roof Tiles Yourself
The roof is designed to withstand a lot. But a strong storm can damage even the best roof. If individual roof tiles have come loose, it is better not to replace them yourself. The risks are high:
If you make mistakes, the insurance will not cover the storm damage.
You could miss further damage.
Stepping on the roof is life-threatening.
Clear the Snow from the Roof
When it has snowed a lot, a lot of snow collects on a flat roof. That can be a danger. But roofs can withstand a lot and therefore evacuation is not always mandatory.
First, get an expert who can correctly assess the snow load. If an evacuation is necessary, leave this to the fire brigade or the technical relief organization.
Because the eviction is dangerous and heavy physical work. Even a well-trained fire-fighter quickly reaches his limits.
Conclusion
Only Professionals Climb onto The Roof
There is damage to the roof that you can repair yourself: drive away animals, install under-rafter insulation or clean the gutter.
With all of these things, you don’t have to get on the roof and you don’t put yourself in any danger.
Some things look simple: for example, replacing roof tiles, installing skylights, or removing snow from the flat roof. But since you have to go up on the roof for this, you should leave this work to a roofer.
