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At Family Roofing, we take great pride in our experience, expertise, quality and customer service. It is our mission to provide excellent workmanship and complete customer satisfaction from start to completion of a project. Our reputation is based on service, safety and quality, regardless of how large or small the job.

 

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ROOF THIS WINTER

The winter months can be hard on your home, and preparing to protect it is an essential step if you want to avoid costly repairs.  Protecting your roof for winter will cost a little upfront, but it will save you lots of time and money in the long run.  It’s best to avoid emergency roof repairs and expensive insurance claims and to perform home winterproofing.

Inspect

Give your roof a thorough inspection in the fall.  Check for missing shingles and leaks.  If something is looking a little rough, consider repairing it before a problem arises.  It’s also a good time to see if you have any trees with branches growing too close to the roof, or other dangerous foliage that may need to be trimmed before winter.

Checking for visible damage won’t take long, but make sure you are being safe and cautious as you do so.  It’s a good idea to take a partner in crime with you to help keep you safe on the roof and on the ladder.

Give your roof a thorough once-over to find any potential trouble spots like loose shingles or rotting boards.  If you live in an older home or find you may need a second opinion, call a professional.  A professional can spot potential problems and help you solve them long before the first flurry falls in the winter.  Professionals can also help you with any needed repairs.

Watching a pro walk through your attic and around your roof can also help you to know what to look for in the future.  While it will cost a little, it’s a great learning opportunity.

Clean

While you’re up on the roof, make sure to inspect those gutters.  There’s a good chance that you’ve got a handful of debris in your gutters, so get cleaning.  Cleaning your gutters is essential for a lot of reasons, but especially for roof safety in the winter.  We recommend cleaning your gutters in the fall, especially if you have trees that drop leaves near the roof.  If you end up with a jammed gutter during the snowy season, you may end up with bigger problems than improper drainage and bad roof runoff.  Gutters are essential to the integrity of the roof, so it’s definitely worth an afternoon of cleaning.

Keep your gutters clean to ensure they are working properly when snow and rain hit your roof.  If your gutters aren’t clean, or are clogged with debris from falling leaves and trees, ice will build up and damage the gutters.

Ice can also build up on your gutters and eventually begin to seep into your house if it doesn’t drain properly.  Water working its way into the siding and interior of your home is something that you should work to avoid to the best of your ability.  The cost of ice melting and the water damaging your home is extensive.

Walk Through

Your attic needs to be inspected before winter too.  Walk through your attic and make sure you can’t see any damage to the roof from the inside.  Sometimes you’ll find problems inside that you didn’t see outside.  Another task you need to tackle is making sure you attic is well ventilated in the winter months.  Check your roof vents and insulation and replace or fix them up as needed.  Vents and insulation keep your home safe and protect your roof from certain types of water or moisture-related damage.  This, in turn, protects your home too.

Inside of your home is ensuring that everything is properly insulated.  Your attic is especially important to have insulated.  You’ll lose a lot of heat through the top of your home without it being insulated, and that heat can cause the snow on your roof to melt.  As that snow melts, it will form patches of ice under the snow piled on top of your roof.  Ice is never something you want on your roof. It’s heavy and takes a toll on your shingles. Keeping your roof well insulated is key to avoiding ice build-up.

When checking the insulation on your roof, be sure to see if your roof is ventilated properly. Your roof’s ventilation ensures that fresh air is always moving in and out from the roof’s eaves.  This allows your home’s insulation to work properly and for no cold or warm air to build up in one specific area.  If you’re unsure if your roof is ventilated and you don’t know how to check, reach out to your local roofing company.

In the winter, when there is snow on the roof, there are things you can do to protect your roof.  If your roof doesn’t have much of a slope and snow gets really compacted up there, these tips are especially for you.  Roofs with low or no slope are prone to much more snow damage than roofs with steeper slopes.

If you’re worried about the snowpack on your roof, take a roof rake to the roof to gently break up the snow.  This will speedup the natural melting process and keep large drifts from forming on the roof.  Be very careful when you rake the roof. It’s an easy process, but it’s not risk free.  Don’t use a roof rake right after a big freeze or during a windy time of day.

You can also use two ladders and a rope to remove snow.  Find a snow buddy and stretch the rope across the roof from your ladder to theirs.  Make sure the rope is high up.  Then, slowly drag the rope down the roof at the same speed as your partner. This will break up the snow and pull some of it off the roof.

Protect Your Pipes

Many homes have pipes built into the ceilings or attics of their homes.  It goes almost without saying that cold weather and water pipes should never mix.  When the weather gets too cold, and the pipes aren’t protected from the cold, they can burst and lead to a home filled with water.  There are several ways that you can look out for your pipes:

• Keep your heat on even when you aren’t home.

• Make sure your home is insulated properly.

• Leave your cabinet doors open.

• Consider leaving the water running.

As a note, leaving the water running can be expensive and wasteful at times.  In some cases, there isn’t much of a choice but you should try to find another way of keeping your pipes protected.

Each of these ways will help to keep your pipes from freezing this winter.  But, instead of worrying about them all the time, contact a home inspector or remodel company to see if they can help you install the right insulation to keep the pipes from bursting.

Repair Your Roof When it Needs To Be

Repairing your roof when it’s damaged is essential to ensuring your roof doesn’t leak come spring.  The last thing you want is to find out that the storm over the summer caused lasting damage that’s now letting water into your home.  When a big storm rolls through your neighborhood, be sure to check for storm damage so that you can ensure your roof will hold strong through the winter.