Welcome to our second Winter blog of the 2019! This time, we will be continuing with the focus on Winter’s weather hazards and providing some solutions that anyone can apply and some that may require a little help from your local roofing company!
This includes some nifty roofing tools that will make taking care of large amounts of snow a breeze, helpful rooftop additions, and a few recommendations that can make life easier!
Winter Roofing Tools
Regardless of where you live, if you get snow or ice during the Winter months, these can be an immense help when looking to remove them! As detailed in our previous blog, light amounts of snow and ice are perfectly fine on your roof, yet as in all things, too much of a good thing can spell trouble.
Large amounts of snow can cause a significant amount of strain on roofing structures, and if your building is older, it can surely put it to the test!
For some business owners, it may be easier to hire a team to remove snow from your roof as seen in the first picture above. However, for those who wish to do it themselves, acquiring a roof snow shovel (as seen above) is affordable and easy to use, allowing its users to safely scrape snow and ice off their rooftops while avoiding damage to the shingles! Along with snow shovels and rakes, there are plenty of other snow removal systems available at your local hardware stores, supermarkets, and even construction businesses.
Rooftop Additions
While removing snow buildup is great, having all that snow fall down around your property can be a hassle as well. That where snow guards come in! Snow Guards are an incredibly helpful addition to any rooftop and will help keep the heaps of snow from falling from your roof all at once! By allowing small amounts of snow and ice slide off, they will make maintaining your sidewalks and porches much easier and negates roof "avalanches"!
(However, for your safety, we only recommend adding on snow guards if your home or businesses roof structure is sound enough, as snow guards will cause a light build up of snow. If unsure, have a local roofing company come and check it for you, before adding them on!)
In terms of options, There are multiple types of snow guards! Some designed for standing seam, slate, or shingle roofs. As seen by the picture to the right, snow guards can even be custom made to blend in with your roof!
Roofing Practices
No matter the tool, its how you put it into practice that matters.
When clearing the snow and ice from your roof with a roof shovel/rake, be sure to have the wheeled side down on the roof and pull firmly! If there is a small section of ice that refuses to budge, don't scrape at it! This will damage your shingles and reduce their longevity! Letting it melt naturally is the best option in this case. However, if the owner wishes to, you can use a special deicer salt designed for rooftops to melt it off, yet this still runs the risk of shingle damage.
A better use of deicer is for sagging gutters!
If your building's gutters have filled with ice, this puts an enormous weight on them! Older gutters or gutters without brackets will begin to sag and bend.
One trick to avoid this, it to either apply deicer directly onto the iced gutters or to line the gutters with it to prevent the buildup before it begins. Once done, the ice will slowly melt and be cleared away!
Photo provided by: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-ashb/379555095