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New England Winter Roof Tips
New England in the wintertime is a veritable Norman Rockwell painting. While our landscapes turn white with snow and smoke gently puffs from our chimneys, it’s important to remember that those very same picturesque New England winters can do a number to your roof, even if it’s in good shape!
With that said, there are some simple tips to ensure your roof is surviving the winter. Many of these tips are simple inspections, although, if you feel that there's an issue, it's better to call in a roofing professional for a look as soon as possible.
After a Big Snow, Check Your Roof in the Morning
When snow is still on your rooftop, and before the late-morning sun has had a chance to rise in the sky and begin melting it, go outside and do a quick visual inspection of your roof. Uniform layers of snow are a good thing—it means your roof is doing its job.
However, if there are significant splotches of melted snow, especially around your chimney, then you could be looking at areas of your home that are not properly insulated. Those patches of melted snow are due to the expensive heat your furnace is producing simply exiting your home and disappearing into the cold air! Use snow as an indicator of where you may need to re-insulate.
Remove the Snow from Your Roof, if Possible
If you're able to, raking your roof with a snow rake has a couple of benefits. First, it relieves the immense weight of snow after a big blizzard. Secondly, it keeps that moisture moving, giving it less of a chance to freeze as it trickles from your roof and into your gutters.
Icicles Mean Clogged Gutters
Icicles can be beautiful to look at. However, if you see a lot of icicles around your roof, then you're suffering from improperly draining gutters. As the snow on your roof melts, it's meant to go into your gutters and drain away from your foundation. However, if that flow is too slow, the water will simply freeze again, producing what we call an "ice dam", which is much harder to melt and will put undue stress on your gutters while getting heavier and larger as winter goes on.
If you see icicles around your gutters, then try and break them up, then try and get into your gutters and scoop out whatever is clogging them. Next blizzard, you might be surprised to see that all that rooftop snow melts and flows into your downspouts, never to plague you again.
Inspect & Repair Flashing
"Flashing" is the thin metallic material that lines the joints of your roof, especially around the base of your chimney. Flashing is meant to be an extra level of flexible waterproofing since those areas tend to be weak spots.
Wind and regular wear-and-tear can tear away or weaken your flashing. While it might be good enough to withstand a simple rainstorm, weakened or missing flashing can let a lot of moisture in when your roof is covered in snow. If possible, inspect your flashing for any missing or weak patches. Of course, if you're hesitant to get on your roof (we understand), then give us a call and we'll do it for you.
Check for Wind Damage
Wind can damage your flashing and pull away shingles. Once a shingle is missing, your roof has nothing left to keep out the elements in that particular area. New England winters are especially windy, so we recommend you do a visual inspection of your roof every once in a while to check for missing shingles. You might even be tipped off by finding one in your driveway.
Too Much Work? We’re Here to Help
It sure is tempting to simply assume your roof is doing its job. However, winters really test your roof’s health due to the pervasive moisture caused by constant snowfall. Even a slow leak is a bad leak, and a slow leak will become a big leak in no time at all.
Climbing a ladder, or worse yet, walking on your roof can be intimidating even for the best of us. Luckily, we're Western Massachusetts' roofing experts; traversing a roof is just another day for us.