Winter weather is hard on your roof. Heavy snow, ice dams along your eaves, and strong winds peeling up shingles can all lead to premature roof damage and water damage once rain arrives in the spring. At Beaulieu Home Improvement, we're here to provide comprehensive winter roof repair and winter roofing services—but we also want to make sure our community has the tools and tips they need to minimize roof damage in the first place. Follow these helpful tips from our team to assess your roofing in winter, learn how to winterize your home and protect your roof, and how proactive winter roofing services can help you stay warm and dry all winter long.
Roof Prep for Winter
Preparing your roof for changing seasons is a great way to prevent future damage and assess your roof for existing damage before it can grow. Your winter roof prep steps should include:
- Clean out your gutters: If you have a lot of trees, you might have to clean out your gutters several times during autumn. A final cleanout will keep your gutters clear and ready to move water from melting snow away from your roof. This also helps prevent ice dams and water damage along the edge of your roof.
- Trim your trees: Keep your trees trimmed back away from your roof line so branches, twigs, and piles of snow can't fall on your roof.
- Inspect your roof: Look on the inside and the outside of your roof for signs of missing roof material, existing water damage, and gaps in your insulation that can let cold air through.
You can also get a winter roof inspection and schedule winter roof repair before the first snowfall to get your home ready.
Common Winter Roof Issues
Even with diligent roof preparation, New England weather can be hard on your roofing in winter. Some of the most common winter roof issues we see are:
- Ice dams are rings of ice caused by melting ice along the edge of your roof and gutters. As they freeze into place, they can stop water from safely reaching your gutters
- Damaged shingles from heavy winds and falling branches
- Bent gutters that are carrying too much weight
- Roof leaks and water damage
- Poor insulation, which can increase your energy bills, as well as melt snow quickly and increase your risk of developing ice dams
Inspect your roofing both before and during winter so you can spot these problems as soon as possible and come up with a plan.
How to Winterize Your Roof
Winterizing your roof is a bit more involved than seasonal roof maintenance and assessments, but it's an important part of how to winterize your home. Along with inspecting your roof, cleaning the gutters, and trimming away branches, complete these additional steps:
- Get a chimney inspection: If you plan on using your fireplace this winter, get it professionally inspected and cleaned. Creosote buildup can ignite, and preexisting damage in your chimney can lead to attic or roof fires.
- Check your attic vents: Seal up cracks around the vent flashing or any other roof features so water can't get inside. Also, ensure the vents are clear and functioning so you can mitigate the risk of moisture buildup and ice.
- Add more insulation to fill in gaps. You can spot gaps after the first snowfall by seeing where the snow on your roof starts to melt first.
Can You Repair a Roof in Winter?
You can repair some types of roof damage in winter, but winter weather does cause complications for roofing in winter. Snow and ice can make your roof treacherous, and it can also make it hard to spot gaps and leaks. Can you put a roof on in the winter? Snowfall, low temperatures, and dangerous working conditions all make a new roof in winter inadvisable. Some roofing materials, such as roofing caulk or shingle sealant strips, also need temperatures above 55° F to adequately set. If you're experiencing roof problems this winter, our roofing team can inspect the damage and recommend temporary solutions or long-lasting winter roof repairs, depending on the extent of the damage. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for fast roofing evaluations and recommendations.
