Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Moss grows while homeowners delay


Why is it that the longer we ignore something, the tougher it is to take action?  That’s certainly the case with writing a blog, as evidenced by the length of time since I last wrote.  But its also true about a host of things around the house.

In particular, I’m thinking
about roof care.  Here in the Pacific Northwest we do live up to our reputation as a wet climate, at least for 7 or 8 months of the year.  And if there is one thing that loves the wet, moss is its name.  Moss is beautiful growing on an old stone wall or as a verdant carpet in the Japanese Garden.  But it wreaks havoc on roofs, degrading shingles and retaining water. We do have hot, dry summers, but that does nothing to slow the moss down, it sleeps and then resumes its growth with the first mists of fall.

With regular treatment, it’s actually pretty easy to control.  But if you aren’t treating it regularly, the moss is going to get the upper hand.  And then you have to pay to have it removed.  And that costs a heck of a lot more than just having it treated on a regular basis.  In my case, a professionally applied spray product will last about 18 months—but removing a fairly light build up triples the price of the treatment.

And if I had regularly (2-3 times a year) applied home store products, I could have avoided the professional treatment.  But that is a lot of time on ladders, and it is hard to hit the entire roof with a hose-end or hand sprayer which means there is always some portion that is getting a buildup.  My roof is too tall and too steep to walk on with a safety harness—and even on a flatter roof, one misstep and I’m in the hospital or worse.  So, I’ve decided to let a pro with the right equipment do the job this year.

So, like so many other aspects of home maintenance, it really is cheaper in the long run to do it regularly, before the problem gets worse.  And I won’t have to keep looking at it getting worse and thinking that I better get something done.

Kinda like this blog has been since April.