There’s nothing cozier than sitting in your home on a snowy evening, watching the snowflakes drift down and blanket the area. But for homeowners, snow isn’t all hot drinks and scenic views. It could also be a potential risk for your home. Below are some instances of how snow can strain your roof, and what you can do about it.
Substantial Snow Can Strain Your Roof
Snow
can damage your roof in several ways. Although
this is a dramatic case, snow overloading your roof could cause it to collapse.
Even though this could be scary, it’s very rare. According to Disaster
Safety, it takes more than 4 feet of fresh snow or more than 2 feet of old,
compressed snow to create enough weight to stress a roof. In areas with heavy
snow accumulation, your roof should be designed to handle greater weight.
However, with increasingly unpredictable weather, you don’t want to take
chances especially if your roof structure is damaged or decayed.
Solution
First and foremost, you’ll want to get your roof inspected well before winter. Especially if you’re expecting unusually harsh weather. We can spot leaks, warn you of risks, and repair damage, even if the temperature has already started to drop. If you believe that the snow and ice on your roof exceed 20-25 per square foot, you should consider removing the snow from your roof. For safe removal that will not endanger you or the integrity of your roof, hire a snow removal contractor.
Ice Dams Can Damage Your Roof, Gutters, and Home
Icicles
may look beautiful to you, but to ABF Roofing & Foam, they look like
trouble. That’s because they’re a sign of an ice dam. Which is a buildup of ice
along the eaves of your roof that can damage your gutters, work under your
shingles, and leak into your house.
Ice dams are caused by uneven heat on your roof. Having a warm attic, it will melt the snow near the middle of your roof. That snow flows down and refreezes at the eaves. When water freezes, it expands which can damage your shingles, open up cracks in your roof, and pry off your gutters.
Solution
This Old House has great recommendations once you have diagnosed your roof having ice dams. One is to use old or new pantyhose. All you need to do is fill the pantyhose with calcium chloride and position it on your roof where it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. For a more permanent fix, you need to change the temperature of your roof. One way to do this is to attach a heated cable to the edge of your roof to melt the ice. Allstate Insurance has a great blog on how to prevent ice dams in the future.
Let’s Winterize Your Roof
Prevention is key, make sure to winterize your roof prior to the first snowstorm. ABF Roofing & Foam can help you prepare your roof for winter. That way you can spend less time worrying about your roofs integrity and more time enjoying the snow. Contact ABF Roofing & Foam today, for your free roof inspection.