The Roofing Resource Blog

Winter's Roofing Precautions

Mon, Jan 7, 2019 @ 04:09 PM | Cutshall

Winter is the season packed with holidays, gorgeous snowy views, and fun seasonal activities! However, along with enjoying this season’s greetings, as homeowners, it's important to keep your roof checked and prepared for Winter’s weather hazards. In this blog, we’ll be discussing two common dangers one should be on the lookout for during this time of the year, so that your new year starts with a solid roof over its head!

Snow Weight

Depending on your location, you may or may not have to deal with copious amounts of snow. Yet to you folks who experience blizzard-esq weather on the regular, this section is for you!

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- Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21218849@N03/4561915645/

As you would probably assume, some snow is perfectly fine during these winter months! Even a foot or two is totally fine time and again. However, copious amounts as seen in pictures like the one above are definitely not safe for any home structure! The weight of this much snow is enough to test any structures strength, and if it is not removed ASAP, it will wear out your roof structure much faster.

This can be worrisome to those whose home's are older and includes all types of rooftops (shingle, flat roof, metal roof, etc.). If not checked and reinforced, the risk of collapse is significantly higher, ruining the home's interior, and costing the home owner a very pretty penny.

Ice Dams

Icicles are a Winter staple and can make for a beautiful natural decoration on any home. However, it also serves as a flag for a hazard known as an Ice Dam.

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With routine roof clearing, home owner's can avoid this however, how is someone to know that their roof has a ice dam? As noted above, the most prominent sign of a ice dam are long-lasting icicles in a collected area along your gutters!

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- Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pavdw/16318243078

This hazard affect primarily shingle rooftops and can be found in any location that has cold winters. For ice dams to form, it doesn't require feet of snow! They can occur with inches as long as the snow sticks around. Stuck between the warm home below and the frozen snow above, melted snow will begin to seep between the shingles and leak into the home's interior!

Don’t let these two hazards ruin your winter experience! Be sure to keep an eye out for them, and prepare when you can by having a local roofing company install snow guards or assess your roof’s strength and stability!

We hope this blog provided some helpful insight to Winter’s occasional dangers, and we here at Exterior Pro wish you all a Happy New Year!

 

Topics: Flat Roofing, Commercial Roof, Shingle Roof