While your roof is composed of multiple components that ensure you’re kept safe and dry, flashing is one of the most important components of your roofing system. Felt, aluminum, copper, or rubber flashing is placed around chimneys and skylights, along eaves and ridges, and anywhere else there are gaps in the system. By hiring a roofer to cover vulnerable areas with flashing, you’ll benefit in the following ways.     

Why Is Your Flashing an Important Roofing System Component?

1. Improve Roof Durability

Before water leaks inside the house, it has a short journey from shingles to the substrate. However, in humid conditions, algae will grow on the roofing system, which can block sunlight, meaning the shingles will never dry out. Rot will set in, leading to mold growth that breaks down the materials. Flashing provides a watertight seal, so rain won’t saturate the roof’s membrane and cause premature failure. 

2. Prevent Water Leaks

Flashing’s main function is to provide an impenetrable barrier, so water doesn’t seep through gaps between planes and vertical surfaces due to gravity, wind pressure, or surface tension. The material helps direct runoff to gutters for proper disposal away from the building. This means water won’t pool around dormers, chimneys, vents, and other protrusions, as well as trickle into the house and cause interior damage. 

3. Avoid Pest Problems

Rodents and insects use overhanging tree branches as walkways to access the roof. Once there, pests look for openings to get inside the attic, in which they then destroy wiring, wooden supports, and insulation. As flashing seals off areas where the roof connects to walls and protrusions, unwelcome critters won’t be able to get inside.

Whether you need a new roof or flashing replacement, the professionals at family-owned and -operated Cincinnati Roofing can tackle both simple and complex projects. These Owens Corning® preferred contractors have over 100 years of combined experience providing repairs and replacements to boost the structural integrity and efficiency of their clients’ roofing systems. Call (513) 484-5363 to have your new flashing installed, or visit the company’s website and Facebook page to see their project photos.