Salt Lake City & surrounding counties
Roof maintenance that catches the small stuff early
Most of what turns up on a maintenance visit in Herriman is small. A corner lifting where the shingles meet the trim, a gap opening along a joint, a gutter that filled up over the fall. Small is the right size to find a problem, and that is the whole point of going up there before anything leaks.
The slope that ages ahead of the rest
This frame looks down a slope of brown shingles that have started to curl, with worn patches where the granules have come off, and a white gutter running beside them full of dead leaves. We see those two things together a lot on a maintenance visit, and they are connected.
On a house in Herriman, the slope facing somewhere between south and west is usually the one that looks like this first. It soaks up the high midday sun and then takes the hot afternoon on top of that, so the asphalt dries out faster there than anywhere else on the roof. The tabs cup, the granules let go and wash down, and the gutter under that one slope collects a gritty layer the others never do.
So that face gets our closest look. We check how far the curling has gone, whether the corners still lie down flat, and how much grit is sitting in the gutter below. A slope like this can keep going for a while with a few repairs, or it can be the first sign the whole roof is getting close. We tell you which one it is. If it is the second, our asphalt shingle roofing page for Herriman walks through what a new roof involves.
What a maintenance visit covers
Gutters and downspouts
We empty them by hand and run water through, because a full gutter hides whatever has washed off the roof above it.
Valleys
Dry grit blows in ahead of the summer storms and the rain packs it into a paste. We clear it so water can run free again.
The sunny faces
The south and west slopes get walked tab by tab for cupping, bare spots and corners that have come loose.
Penetrations
Pipe boots, vents and anything else that pokes through the roof get checked for cracks and lifted edges.
Walls and trim
Anywhere the shingles run into trim, siding or stone, we look for an open joint and anything packed in against it.
Small fixes on the spot
A lifted corner gets sealed back down and a loose piece gets refastened while we are already up there.
Photographs
You get pictures of what we saw, the good along with the bad, so you can see it for yourself.
Something moved in along the wall
We find this one more often than people would guess. In this photo, nesting straw and a fair amount of droppings are packed in along the metal flashing where the shingles meet a stone veneer wall. That corner is sheltered, it holds the warmth, and nobody can see it from the yard, which makes it a cozy spot for whatever found it first.
The trouble is what the pile does to the roof. Straw and droppings soak up water like a sponge, so every rain and every melt gets held against the metal and the shingle edge for days when it should be running off. Water also backs up behind a mound like that and goes looking for a way around, and along a wall the way around tends to be underneath.
We pull it all out by hand, bag it, and look at what was hiding under it: the metal, the shingle edges and the seal at the wall. Anything that has opened up gets closed while we are there. If water has been getting in for a long time, the sheathing under that corner may be the bigger job, and that is covered on our roof deck replacement page for Herriman.
After a hail cell crosses the valley
Storms here usually roll across the valley from the west, so hail hits the west and southwest faces hardest and comes in at a slant. That slant changes what the damage looks like. A stone falling straight down leaves a mark you can spot. A stone coming in sideways skids across the shingle and knocks the granules loose along the top edge of each tab, and from the driveway the roof looks fine.
That is why a look after a real storm belongs in maintenance. We walk the west and southwest slopes hunting for scuffed edges, and it is pretty common to find two faces that took a beating and a north side that was never touched. A roof like that may only need work on the slopes that got hit, and we will tell you that plainly.
If a storm has already put water inside the house, skip the checkup and call us. Storm calls jump the line, and our emergency roof repair page for Herriman explains how we get you dry first and hold the permanent fix for weather it can actually set up in.
A roof can look fine from the driveway and still be holding water against a wall.
A newer roof still deserves a visit
A lot of Herriman is newer construction, and a newer roof is easy to forget about. The first problems on one are usually small ones: a shingle corner that never sealed down, a gap where the roof meets trim, a gutter nobody has emptied since the house went up. None of that is a crisis by itself. Left alone through a few winters, any of it can start letting water in. We like to see a roof twice a year, once before summer and once after the leaves come down, and you can set that up through our contact form.
If you are building right now, the roof itself is on our new construction roofing page for Herriman. The general rundown of upkeep work is on the main roof maintenance page.
Hancock Signature Roofing is a woman-owned, family-run outfit in its second generation, with 27 years in the trade, and Herriman is on our regular Salt Lake County route. There is more about the town on our Herriman service area page, and finished work is in the gallery. Call (801) 382-8898 or reach us on the contact page, and we will pick a time to walk the roof with you.
Where Herriman sits on our map
Herriman sits at the south end of the valley against the Oquirrhs, right on our Salt Lake County route, so a maintenance visit fits in easily.
How often should a roof get a maintenance visit?
Twice a year suits most houses here: once before summer and once after the leaves are down. A visit after a real hail storm is worth adding too, even when nothing shows from the ground.
Do you fix things during the visit or just report them?
Small things get fixed while we are up there, like a lifted corner that needs sealing or a loose piece that needs refastening. Anything bigger, we photograph it, explain it, and quote it separately so you can decide.
Is a nest on my roof really a problem?
It can be. Straw and droppings hold moisture against the flashing and the shingle edges, and water backs up behind the pile. We clear out what is there and check the metal and shingles underneath it.
Why does one side of my roof look worse than the others?
The slope facing south to west takes the most sun here, so it usually ages first, and hail tends to come in from the west too. One worn face does not automatically mean the whole roof needs replacing.
My roof is only a few years old. Does it need maintenance?
Yes, though usually not much. Newer roofs tend to show small things like corners that never sealed, gaps at the trim and full gutters. Catching those early is the easy way to keep a newer roof in good shape.
Will you tell me if the roof needs replacing?
If it does, yes, and if it does not, we say that too. Most maintenance visits end with a short list of small repairs, and you get the photos either way.
The rest of the Herriman work
Talk to Hancock
Due for a look at the roof?
Put the roof on a twice-a-year schedule, or have it walked once before winter sets in. We clear out what has packed in, fix the small things on the spot and tell you straight what is coming down the road.