Winter in the Bay Area is a blessing and a curse for homeowners.

On the one hand, you need to prep your roof for rainy season to eliminate or at least reduce the capacity for leaks, moisture buildup, mildew, mold, and all other nasty eventualities. On the other hand, at least you don’t have to deal with hail, blizzards, and Arctic cold fronts blasting in from Canada.

To that end, here are 5 tips to prep your roof for the wet weather of winter 2012/2013.

1. Get rid of obvious gunk, debris, and hazards.

Is there a rotting tree leaning dubiously close to your house? Now is the time to cut that tree down, before it falls over on your roof or just rains gunk on it. Do you have other “stuff” that blew onto your roof during the fall – or that could fall onto your roof? Get rid of it now.

2. Identify and fix potential structural issues.

Problematic roofs exhibit tell tale signs. Identify these hazards and deal with them now. For instance: dark spots staining your roof shingles, clogged gutters, moisture seeping through a ceiling or crack above a window — these may all be red flags. They may indicate not only problems in the immediate vicinity but also “below the surface” issues with other parts of the roof or structure.

3. Get your weatherproofing done now.

It’s never a “great time” to weatherproof. Our to-do lists are full-to-bursting as is. But if you wait until bad weather hits to begin the process; by that time, you may need to spend thousands of dollars to repair mildewy or broken “stuff” on top of doing the weatherproofing that you should have done months ago. So get on it ASAP: focus on weatherproofing around your flu, windows, vents, and any areas that have proven problematic in the past.

4. Create a weatherproofing process.

Assuming that you’re going to live in your Bay Area home for more than a year, it behooves you to develop and refine a process for dealing with the vagaries and hazards of different seasons. You might “get through” this season fine, but you don’t want to have to rethink your systems every season and keep rolling the proverbial dice. So write down your systems and maintenance schedule, and calendar them to review as appropriate.

5. Get help.

Unless you’re a homebuilding and maintenance expert – odds are you aren’t – you can benefit a lot from outside expertise. The team here at the Century Roof and Solar specializes in roofing repair, maintenance, and gutter installation and cleaning.  We can provide a comprehensive, free, and no hassle consultation about your weatherproofing and roofing needs. Get in touch with us today to gain control over your big projects!