One thing that you will hear or should hear many roofing contractors talk about is the ventilation and insulation for your roof. These two things are the key to the durability of any roofing system.
Without proper ventilation and insulation, moisture and heat will build up in the attic area and cause the rafters and sheathing to rot, this also can affect the outside with your shingles. If you have ever drove around and seen curled shingles, this is caused by poor ventilation to the roof. This can also cause the insulation to lose the effectiveness it should have for keeping your home warm and cool.
The first thing you can do and should make sure of, or a contractor should check, is that there is no blockage to the roofing ventilation, your roofing system has to be able to breath so it can release moisture and heat. 
These are louvers, ridge vents, and soffit vents. The winter time especially you should have good ventilation to flow through. With proper ventilation it will help prevent any structure damage that is caused by the moisture, and this can expand the life of your roofing system. The ventilation can also help building owners reduce energy cost during the high temp months and the cold months where is some places the temperature can get below freezing.
With the free air flow for ventilation, you also need to make sure your attic is properly insulated. Some home do not have a big attic above their roof, even though there is no attic the roof is still need to be insulated and sometimes it can be a crawl space above your roof. A good attic or crawl space is to have a gap-free layer of insulation to the floor to protect the house from heat gain or loss. Also vapor retarder under the insulation and next to ceiling to stop moisture from going into the attic. Next there has to be enough opening or vented spaces to allow air to pass in and out and a minimum of 1” between the sheathing and insulation.
In each state there are regulations for proper ventilation to the attic and even the required R value for insulation based on that states climates through the summer and winter months. These seasons are where the ventilation and insulation are so important because of how high or low the temperatures can get. Some variations depend on where the buildings location is and structure conditions. The general ventilation formula is based on the length and width of attic, the NRCA recommends a minimum of 1 sq ft of free vent area for each 150 sq feet of attic floor and the vents properly placed at eaves and near the ridge.
If you are unsure how to inspect your attic for good insulation and ventilation or know that there may be one of these issues for your home, feel free to contact us and we can help you figure that out. Or for those that are outside our tri-state area, contact your local roofing or other contractor. The summer heat is already rolling in so its time to get ready and make sure your home will remain cool this summer.
