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Blog
Keeping a roof clean
| Posted on 13 May, 2013 at 13:00 |
Keeping a
roof clean By F. Moal When looking at an ageing building,
few people cast a critical eye at the state of the roof. The windows are clean,
the garden tidy and the interior spotless, but the roof is almost invariably
unkempt. Black moulds hide it's colour and moss slowly mats itself in the bonds,
so slowly that few take notice. The
encroachment of grime and moss has it's effects : Beyond the architectural downgrade the fabric
of the building is at risk. Doing nothing is ultimately the expensive option.
The risk varies with the nature of the roofing material : Thatch and wood
shingles are at a more immediate risk of decay. Metals erode under the
acidic releases of lichen and moss. Lead and zinc used in soakers and rainwater
disposal will thin down to eventually leak. Clay tiles need to dry between
rainfalls to fulfill the promise of durability - if not premature shaling or
frost damage may occur. On all material the permanent presence of a bio film is
deleterious by increasing capillary creep in laps and interstices. This in turn
leads to undetectable moisture ingress.
Generally
materials retaining moistures are prone to contamination and combined with a
shady winter exposure porous materials such as concrete tiles will become a
good host for moulds such as A. Niger, then algae, followed by moss and lichen.
As the bio film becomes established, the moistures are more permanent, and the
cycle accelerates. Architects do not seem to enter this constrain in their
choice of roof material : This was of no consequence in the days of acidic
rain, but cleaner air results in nature
reclaiming it's place in unforeseen ways.
There is no
easy answer to the return of nature : Excessive moss has to be removed by hand. Mechanical means used on the
ground are ill adapted to a pitch roof. Jetting causes irremediable erosion to the surface. As a result the
un-wanted host returns with a vengeance, only to hide the uneven, permanent
discolorations of the roofing tiles.
After
clearing the roof from the bulky growth the next and final step is to spray the
area with a dedicated anti algal wash. The right product, such as Mossgo-Pro
will kill the remaining biological life at the surface and, most importantly,
in laps and interstices. The dead bio film will soon loosen under diurnal
cycles, helped by the wind, rain, heat and frost. Self cleansing is a lengthy
affair - months in most cases with latent effects stretching over a period of
two or three years. The roof will become cleaner with the change of seasons and
reveal it's original colour and texture. There is no known preventative measure
of any durability. Clear hydrophobic
resins degrade under UV in a matter of months. The same causes -
substrate porosity and sun exposure - will have the same effects, at the same
rate. This however is slow and a roof treatment is to be regarded as decennial
maintenance. Further maintenance will not be as heavy as the first clean, if
carried out as or before the surface contamination triggers the condition for
accelerated growth. On the continent,
antiseptic roof shampoo has been standard practice for decades. Roofing firms
offer it as a standard way of finishing remedial work and as preparation to
fitting out solar panels. In Britain the practice is expending quickly : The process has been adapted to the northern
more demanding climate of the British Isles. The website www.roofclean.co.uk
hosts a wealth of information on roof maintenance treatment. HD Roofing Services in Ireland, are among the most experienced contractors to use the Mossgo pro roof cleaning system. For more info or advice call Andrew on 087 9323863 or mail him at [email protected] |
Categories: Effects of moss growth.
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