The Weight of Snow
As snow piles up on the roof, it compacts and becomes heavier. A square foot can easily end up weighing about 50 pounds. This is a lot of weight sitting on the roof of your home. Older homes are especially vulnerable because they are not always rated to support that kind of weight. While full roof cave-ins are rare, the stress can easily cause cracks in your drywall. This often leads to further winter roof damage.
Ice
Ice dams can also occur once the snow begins to melt. As water freezes, it can cause significant damage to the roof and inside of your home. Water can seep under shingles and refreeze. This causes it to expand and causes even bigger problems that lead to leaks and cracks on the ceiling and walls of your home. For this reason, trapped water on your roof needs to be removed immediately.
What You Can Do
Being prepared before the first snow falls is always the best idea. Having to scrape snow and frozen water off a roof can damage shingles and take years off its life. Snow protection systems like snow guards can help prevent ice damming as well as damage to gutters. Being prepared will save you money in the long run from having to repair the roof and possible interior areas of your home.
If you are not sure if your roof is winter-weather ready, have an expert out to ensure you will avoid winter roof damage and keep your home safe.
