When thinking about the seasons that pose the most risk to the exterior of our houses, many people initially think of winter or fall and how the increased amount of rain, ice, snow, and wind can threaten roof shingles, clog the gutters, and damage the sides of homes. Although the colder months can cause a lot of damage to our homes, it doesn’t mean that just because longer and hotter summer days mean our homes are safe. In fact, summer brings with it its own threats and challenges, which can damage our home in even worse ways than the major threats of winter.
Much like in the way that homeowners inspect their homes and make preparations before the winter, many people need to start doing the same for summer, and make alterations to better promote the longevity and protection of a house. Here are some of the major ways in which summer can damage your home and the measures you can put in place to limit these damages.
Sun Damage
With summer comes longer, hotter days, and although many people rejoice in these types of temperatures and environments, your home can suffer under the beating sun. One reason the sun is dangerous is because of the UVrays that sunlight contains, which can cause irreversible damage when they beat down on a surface for a long time. Sunlight can harm roofs as it can cause discoloration and bleaching, which can ruin the symmetry and design of a roof, making it look less appealing and neat.
Sunlight can also cause damage to walls. This is because timber and other pieces of wood can expand and contract during the summer, depending on the heat and moisture in the air. This expansion can cause pressure on the surrounding areas, which means paint is more likely to crack and flake off, therefore exposing the layer underneath, as well as drying out decking oils, which makes surfaces vulnerable. Sunlight can also cause fabrics to fade and degrade, meaning it can seriously damage any outdoor furniture and make it look old and haggard.
The best way to avoid sun damage is to make sure that your home gets enough shade. Adding a veranda or pergola can help provide consistent shade, which can protect your home but also keep it naturally cool—helping you avoid wasting energy by using electrical fans. Another interesting, and perhaps more visually appealing option is to cover your walls with vines as this can provide enough shade to protect your home, while also making it beautiful at the same time. It’s also best to keep the interior of your home shaded as well, as the same issues that can appear on the outside of your home can happen indoors. That’s why it’s a good idea to add blinds or louvers over skylights, as this can reduce the amount of strong sunlight entering your home.
Animals
Animals that hibernate during winter are much more active during the summer months, and include vermin such as mice and squirrels. These animals can cause a lot of damage to your home if you allow it and have the capabilities to create serious harm to your roofs, attics, and crawl spaces. Squirrels are particularly hazardous, as all they need is a split shingle or a little hole to enter into your attic and start gnawing through your wood and support beams, which could jeopardize your entire ceiling structure and cause it to collapse. As squirrels constantly chew through wood to keep their ever-growing teeth from getting too long, they won’t stop until they’re exterminated. The best way to prevent a squirrel infestation is to get a roofing company such as Rock Solid Exteriors to inspect your roof and mend any damaged parts.
Birds are another critter that can cause serious damages in a more disgusting way. This is because their excrement is extremely corrosive and can erode parts of shingles and roofing tiles to the point where holes can start appearing, or at the very least begin to discolor them. Birds can also rip out insulation and protective layers from your roof as they use it to build nests, meaning that they could create gaps for rainwater to dribble through and cause leaks. They also love to build these nests in gutters, which can block them, meaning that rainwater or melted ice will struggle to flow through it, which in turn, means that it’ll sit in the gutter for longer against the walls and may soak into them and cause damp.
Lightning
As the days get warmer, there’s more potential for lightening storms to appear in the summer months than in winter. Lightening can be a huge risk to your home, so you want to make sure there’s nothing to attract a lightning strike and that your home is well protected in case one does hit anyway.
Lightning can surge through the electrical wiring of a house, destroying most devices that are attached to your outlets, and it can also spark through your plumbing system due to water being a strong conductor, resulting in serious damage. Damage from a lightening storm can be extremely costly, but there are measures you can put in place to limit the damages.
A good way to make sure your home is well protected from a lightening strike is to fit in a surge protector, as these will earth any excess electricity, meaning that it will bypass your devices and keep them all safe. You can fit protectors on individual devices, but a better way to protect your house is to get one that covers the entire building, but to do that you’ll need a qualified electrician.
There are also other measures that you put in place to protect your home during a storm. One of the main ones is to turn off as many electrical appliances as you can, and to avoid using your landline, as this can attract a lightening strike. It’s also a good idea to install a lightening rod as this attracts lightening and diverts the strike away from the structure of your house, which creates an additional layer of protection.
