Prepping your roof for monsoon season

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Monsoon season is officially here, which means New Mexico and elsewhere in the southwestern U.S. can see an increase in rain.

That means now is a good time to get your roof checked for potential damage – especially when we haven’t seen any crazy weather.

Roofing companies get busy during monsoon season and they say it’s better to be prepared now. You can do that by checking for any holes or cracks on your roof, which could potentially let water in the house during those rainstorms.

“Most of the common calls are leaks mostly on skylights, on pitched roofs and tile roofs. On flat roofs, you get a lot of leaks around the canals. Flat roofs tend to leak a lot more than pitched roofs. So if you have a flat roof, you should definitely give somebody a call to check them out,” said Bernabe Martinez, the junior vice president at Doyle Roofmasters.

To further prevent leaks, you’ll want to make sure the gutters, drains and canals are clean. If they aren’t water can accumulate during heavy rains and increase the chances of water leaks.

Tree branches near roofs should also be trimmed. In the case of a bad windstorm, one can easily fall on the roof and create major damage.

Having your roof in good shape isn’t just important for monsoon season, either. It’s something that can save you money in the long run too.

“Your insurance company, if they see that it’s been neglected, they can actually drop you from the insurance,” Martinez said.

Monsoon season runs from June to September.