Winter Roofing Tips

Winter will be on us before you know it and while the weather is still pretty agreeable, it’s a good time to get going on winterizing your roof. Hey, you winterize your car, don’t you? Well your roof is an investment too, and if you don’t take care of it, you will pay in the long run. These simple tips will save you a lot of grief and it can become a part of your change-of-season routine.

Your Gutters

Gutters filled with impacted leaves and debris can wreak havoc on your roof and the inside of your home as well. Clogged gutters cause ice dams. You know those pretty icicles that hang from your gutters? They could be your first clue that you have an ice dam.

When heat escapes from your roof, it melts the snow that has piled up there. The melted snow then flows to the edge of your roof. There it refreezes and when it melts, it needs somewhere to go, but your clogged gutters do not provide a path. That path could lead straight into your home. All it takes is a small opening and the water is in. Of course, in the long term, forward beaded gutters could help with this because they divert the water away from your building, but they too, have to be kept clean of debris.

Weatherproofing Your Home

There are other steps you can take that will help reduce the heat that escapes from your home and heats your roof. Air can reach your attic, and from your roof, through a variety of entrance points, including your chimney, vent pipes, exhaust fans, light fixtures and attic hatches. It will help tremendously if you take care to seal these elements to reduce the heat loss. Aside from protecting your roof from heat that can melt the snow it also helps keep the heat you pay for inside your home, lowering your bills and saving you money.

Other Strategies

If you have trees on your property, make sure that the branches don’t overhang your roof. Ice storms or heavy snow can cause these branches to break and do a lot of damage. If these are deciduous trees, and they have left leaves all over your roof, it would pay to have the leaves removed from your roof when you have your gutters cleaned. If not, the clean gutters won’t matter when the leaves on the roof slide down and clog them again. And don’t forget to clean your soffit vents, which run along your home’s eaves. If they aren’t clear, they can impede the air that flows into your attic.