Is Your Roof Ready For Winter?

The chilly evening temperatures have made it to the Tri-State area (Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania) and it probably won’t be long before Old Man Winter starts knocking on the door during the day. For many, this is a time to start slowing down a bit and cruise into the holidays and hope for an early Spring. However, we encourage you to do an inspection of your shingles now (use binoculars from the ground or call us to scale the top of your home) and see if an upgrade is needed while the weather allows. Since winter can be very hard on your roof, it is important to make sure your roof is ready to handle what lies ahead.

The Roof Problem In Winter

A typical scenario is that a front moves through overnight and drops an inch or two of snow on your roof. Then, the following day, temperatures warm up a bit. The melting process can be slow and take longer to drain away than rain.

So the rising temperature during the day melts the snow, which starts to make its way to the internal roof drains or parapet wall scuppers. But before all the melting snow can drain off the roof, the shortened daylight hours and plunging temperatures close in again, causing the water to re-freeze. If your roof has failing seams, cuts, abrasions, or holes, the water will penetrate those areas, expanding when it freezes, causing more damage.

As this cycle of melting and re-freezing continues, the moisture will either go away as the air dries it out or stay locked in to the cavities for a longer period of time, causing the roof to fail.

We May Be The Solution