Our team at Roof Pros NW hopes you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! This winter season has been busy for many of us, and we hope you have had a good time during these cold temperatures. Depending on where you live in the area, you might have seen a decent amount of snow this winter season. We want to educate and inform you on how exactly your roof could be affected during the winter, specifically by frozen rain, snow, and cold temperatures.
What To Know About Your Roof and the Winter Season
As we all know, the weather during winter can be quite harsh. Mother nature can take quite a toll on your house near Seattle and Bellevue, and it’s essential to realize what the cold conditions could do to your home, specifically your roofing.
1. Snow Damage
You either love or hate snow during the winter season. The fluffy powder that falls from the sky can create two significant issues when it comes to your home’s roof.
Firstly, melting snow on your roof can present you with water leaks, usually called snow leaks, since they result from the snow. The leaks can typically happen around damaged places on your roof, the house’s upper structure, the edge of your roofline, or the chimney. It’s essential to look for roof leaks because they are not so obvious sometimes. Roofing leaks can present many issues, such as rotting in your attic or home’s structure and unwanted moisture in your home’s frame. Rotting and excess moisture can damage, warp, and soften your home’s frame and prevent safety issues to anyone inside the building. If this is the case in your Bellevue or Seattle home, you must perform roof maintenance as soon as possible.
Another issue that could come up is an overabundance of snow on your roof, also called an excessive snow load. Many of us will not need to worry about this since it is an infrequent occurrence, and it rarely snows enough in the Puget Sound area to face this issue. When the upper structure of your home and roof can’t handle the snow load it is presented, you can face total structure failure and a roofing collapse.
2. Ice Damage
The more common problems you might face with your roof are ice-related. Ice can provide you with tricky and unique problems when damaging the roofing of your Seattle or Bellevue home.
Ice dams, also known as ice damming, occur when the snow on your roof melts and then freezes multiple times. This can be devastating for the edge of your home, specifically your gutters. The snow will melt, collect in your gutters, then freeze again. This puts a large weight load on your gutters and can cause them to collapse. This problem is much easier avoided when you take the time to clean and unclog your gutters before the winter season begins.
Another problem can arise if you already have small holes or other damage to your roof. Melting snow will seep into small cracks, holes, or other improperly sealed areas of your roofing. When it gets cold again and the water freezes, it will expand and cause these cracks and holes to open even wider. This would be another case where roof maintenance would be necessary to fix these damages.
3. Wind
Wind tends to be more prevalent and stronger during the winter season. Since this is the case, wind damage to people’s roofs can be common. The first way strong winds can hurt your roofing is by entirely ripping off shingles and tiles from it. This isn’t so much of a problem if you have a roof built recently by a reputable roofing company, like us at Roof Pros NW. This is more of the case for homes and buildings with an older roof that hasn’t been replaced in a very long time.
Intense storms and heavy winds can also knock around other things in the Seattle and Bellevue area, which will then hit your home. From branches to even the neighbor’s patio furniture, anything hitting your roof with such force could potentially harm a spot that will prevent you with problems in the future.
Is it Okay to do Roofing Maintenance in the Winter?
Yes! While we don’t consider winter the most optimal time for roof repairs, roof maintenance, and roof replacements, it can still be done if necessary. Performing repairs on your roof in the winter can be a dangerous task, which will cause winter projects to take longer as our team takes the proper safety precautions. Ice and snow are slippery, and our experienced roofing team can take safety very seriously in these conditions.
Depending on the type of roof being installed or repaired, we may wait until a day when the temperature is proper for our needs. For example, the sealing process is not very effective in colder temperatures. The adhesive used when installing shingles may not set correctly, forcing us to wait for a warmer day. If you have any questions about roof repairs or roof maintenance in the winter, feel free to give us a call or send us an email!
Roof Repairs and Roof Maintenance for Bellevue and Seattle Areas
In conclusion, the winter season provides us with a variety of unique problems and situations regarding your roof. The cold conditions can damage your roof and gutters and accelerate already damaged parts of your roof. If you are needing roof repair or roof maintenance, our team at Roof Pros NW can provide you with emergency roofing services during cold temperatures. Give us a call today to hear about our free no-obligation bid for our roofing services!
