Are your roof & gutters ready for rain?

A Marin County Homeowner’s Fall Checklist

Fall in Marin County doesn’t always look much like fall.

We may still have warm afternoons, blue skies and weeks without a drop of rain. But eventually, that first real storm arrives and that’s usually when homeowners discover the things their roof and gutters have been quietly trying to tell them all summer.

A clogged gutter starts overflowing. A small roof issue becomes a leak. Debris that has been sitting in a valley suddenly prevents water from draining properly.

The good news? You don’t have to climb onto your roof to do a little preparation.

At McLeran Roofing & Gutters, we’ve been working on Marin County homes since 1929. Here are some of the things we recommend homeowners pay attention to before rainy season gets underway.

Start With Your Gutters

Your gutters have one very important job: collect water from your roof and move it away from your home.

Unfortunately, Marin County gives them plenty of opportunities to get clogged.

Redwood needles, pine needles, leaves and other debris can accumulate throughout our long dry season. Once the rain arrives, all of that material can prevent water from flowing freely.

Instead of traveling through the gutter and down the downspout, water may overflow the gutter, back up against the roofline or spill where you don’t want it.

Before rainy season, look for:

• Leaves, needles and visible debris
• Sagging sections of gutter
• Gutters pulling away from the fascia
• Damaged or loose downspouts
• Plants or weeds growing in the gutter
• Staining that suggests water has been overflowing

Homes surrounded by mature trees may require considerably more gutter maintenance than homes with little tree coverage.

And remember: gutter guards reduce debris, but they don’t necessarily eliminate maintenance altogether.

For more detailed tips, check out our Gutter Maintenance and Cleaning Guide.

Make Sure Your Downspouts Can Actually Drain

Cleaning the gutter is only half of the equation.

Once rainwater reaches the downspout, it still needs somewhere to go.

A downspout packed with leaves or debris can cause the entire gutter system to back up during heavy rain.

Before the first storm, take a walk around your house and look at where your downspouts terminate.

Are they connected?

Are any sections visibly damaged?

Is there an obvious blockage?

Is water being directed somewhere appropriate rather than simply dumping against the house?

Sometimes the problem homeowners blame on the roof actually starts with drainage.

Look for Debris Collecting in Roof Valleys

Marin County’s trees are beautiful.

Your roof doesn’t always appreciate them as much as you do.

Roof valleys are designed to move a significant amount of water. When leaves, redwood needles, pine needles and other organic material collect in these areas, they can interfere with drainage and hold moisture against the roofing system.

You don’t need to climb onto your roof to investigate.

Stand safely on the ground and look at the roof from different angles. If you can see piles of debris collecting in valleys or other areas of the roof, it’s worth having them addressed before heavy rain arrives.

And please don’t climb onto a steep or wet roof to clean it yourself. Falls happen quickly, and roofing professionals have the equipment and experience to work safely.

Give Your Roof a Visual Check From the Ground

You don’t need to be a roofer to notice when something doesn’t look right.

Take a few minutes to walk around your property and look up.

Depending on your roofing material, watch for things like:

• Missing shingles
• Shingles that appear lifted, curled or damaged
• Excessive granule loss
• Broken or displaced tiles
• Damaged ridge areas
• Loose or damaged flashing
• Areas that look noticeably different from the rest of the roof

One small irregularity doesn’t automatically mean you need a new roof.

But identifying a potential issue before a week of rain is much better than discovering it when water reaches your ceiling.

If you want to learn more about what to look for, take a look at our article on 5 Warning Signs Your Roof Needs Help.

Pay Attention to Trees and Vegetation Around the Roof

Living among mature trees is part of what makes Marin County so special.

It also creates additional maintenance for homeowners.

Branches touching or hanging directly over a roof can drop debris, scrape roofing materials and continually refill gutters you’ve just cleaned.

Vegetation around the home is also particularly important for properties located within Marin County’s Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).

If you aren’t sure whether your home is located within a WUI area, check out our blog on Understanding the WUI in Marin County.

Maintaining the area around your roof isn’t just about preparing for rain. For many Marin properties, it’s part of thinking about the home as a complete system throughout both fire season and rainy season.

Don’t Forget Skylights, Chimneys, Vents and Flashing

When homeowners think about their roof, they naturally think about the shingles or tiles.

But some of the most important parts of a roofing system are the places where something interrupts the roof surface.

That includes:

• Skylights
• Chimneys
• Plumbing vents
• Roof vents
• Flashing
• Valleys
• Roof-to-wall transitions

These details help direct water around openings and transitions in the roof.

If you’ve noticed staining around a skylight, chimney or ceiling penetration in the past, don’t wait for the next major storm to start thinking about it again.

Check the Attic — If You Can Do So Safely

Sometimes the earliest signs of a roof problem are easier to see from inside the house.

If you have safe access to your attic, look for anything unusual, including:

• Water staining
• Darkened wood
• Damp insulation
• Musty odors
• Evidence of previous leaking
• Daylight visible where it shouldn’t be

An old water stain doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an active leak, but it’s useful information to have before rainy season.

If you’re unsure whether something is old or new, taking a dated photo can make it easier to see whether anything changes after the next storm.

Don’t Wait Until the First Big Storm to Think About Your Roof

Every year, the phones get busier when the rain starts.

There’s a pretty simple reason for that.

A roof problem that’s easy to ignore on a sunny September afternoon becomes considerably more urgent when water is dripping into the house at 2:00 a.m.

If you already know your roof has an issue, addressing it before prolonged wet weather gives you more options.

It also gives roofing contractors something incredibly valuable: dry weather.

What Happens to Roofing Projects When Rain Arrives?

This is one of the most common questions we hear heading into winter.

Do roofing companies stop working when rainy season begins?

No.

But our scheduling changes.

At McLeran Roofing & Gutters, larger roofing projects are scheduled around reliable dry-weather windows. During the wetter months, that often means we’re watching the forecast closely and scheduling projects on a more week-to-week basis.

Sometimes Mother Nature cooperates.

Sometimes she changes her mind.

When that happens, projects may need to be moved.

We know rescheduling can be frustrating, but there’s one thing we’re not willing to gamble with your home.

We’re not going to tear into a roof when the forecast doesn’t give us a safe window to get the home properly protected.

Your home comes first.

Already Under Contract With McLeran? We Babysit Your Roof.

This is one of the things we think homeowners should know about working with us.

If you’ve signed a contract with McLeran Roofing & Gutters and you’re waiting for your project to begin, we’re not simply going to leave you on your own if the weather changes.

We babysit the roof while you wait.

If the roof develops a leak before we’re able to begin the contracted project, we’ll come out and stop the leak at no additional charge while you’re waiting for your scheduled work.

That protection applies to stopping the roof leak itself; interior damage is not included.

It’s one of the ways we try to take some of the stress out of scheduling a roof replacement during Northern California’s unpredictable winter weather.

A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
Getting your home ready for rainy season doesn’t necessarily mean replacing your roof.

For many homeowners, preparation is simply about paying attention.

Clear the gutters.

Check the downspouts.

Look for debris.

Take a look at the roof.

Pay attention to anything that has changed.

And if something doesn’t look right, it’s much easier to investigate it while the sun is still shining than during the middle of a Marin County storm.

After nearly a century of working on roofs throughout Marin County, we’ve learned that preventative attention is almost always easier than emergency reaction.

McLeran Roofing & Gutters

Honest. Dependable. Local.

Serving Marin County since 1929.

415-456-7663

Contractor License #474230