Have you ever been cleaning-out your gutters in the fall or spring and notices little rocks in them? Or hanging-out on your patio and notice those same little rocks? Well, those aren’t rocks. Those are granules from your asphalt shingle roof. There are many signs that your roof might need attention. Some signs are obvious, such as a leaking ceiling. Other signs of a potential roofing problem aren’t quite as obvious.
Rain
A client of ours recently got some rain. A lot of rain. A lot of rain in a short period of time. 1.22″ of rain in about an hour, to be more precise. Between all that rain in a short period of time, and having gutters clogged with debris, their gutters were overflowing with rain water. Overflowing gutters is usually a bad thing. It means water isn’t diverting away from the house. You want water diverting away from your house so it doesn’t affect your house’s foundation and cause problems, such as leak into your basement.
Granules on the Ground
One good thing about their overflowing gutters is that it left a clue on their porch that pointed to a problem with their roof; the homeowner found asphalt shingle granules on the ground. Granules on the ground means they’re not on the roof where they belong, which means they might need a new roof.
If the rain had been lighter, the granules might have washed away into the ground where nobody could see them. In this case, we were glad we could see them on the ground where someone could see them and start investigating.
Sure enough, the homeowner called us out for an inspection and we found exposed fibers all over their roof.
We also found granules in their gutters.
We caught this roof just in time. Had the homeowner waited much longer, the roof would have started to leak into their attic which can cause a series of problems, such as mold.
The Bottom Line
If you find granules on the ground, or in your gutters, you might need a new roof. You know you need a new roof if you look at the shingles and you see exposed fiberglass, such as in the photo above. Some granules in the gutters isn’t necessarily bad, but a lot means it’s time to replace your roof. Exposed fiberglass means your roof might be leaking rain water into your attic and it’s time for a new roof.
If you’re unsure or don’t want to get on a ladder and check your gutters, contact us for a free roof inspection.