Handling Roof Damage
The wintertime can bring along with the festivities lots of cold wind and icy snow. While you rely on your roof to protect the structural integrity of your home and keep your family safe, it doesn’t always stand up perfectly to the job. If you’ve experienced some roof damage this winter, here is how you can easily handle it. Start by cleaning the roof, do a thorough inspection, nail down loose shingles, and fix any broken or dented gutters. By taking these steps, you will be able to handle roof damage caused by a winter storm. If you are nervous about doing any of these tasks during a slippery or icy freeze, contact a roofing company in your area for help.
Before you can really see the extent of the damage to your roof, you need to get it cleaned off. It’s best to wait until the storm is through before you start to climb on your roof. You should start by removing the extra weight of the snow with a snow rake. If there are loose branches on your roof, try to remove them with your snow rake as well. Don’t attempt to climb on your roof until the snow is melted off to ensure your utmost safety. By cleaning off your roof first, you will be better able to see any damage that has occurred.
Once you get your roof cleared off, it’s time to do an inspection. Make sure that your roof is safe to walk on before you go climbing around. You’ll want to inspect areas of your roof where branches came down or where shingles started to peel up. You’ll want to see if there was any moisture penetration that happened due to a break in the shingles. Be careful while on the roof, and make sure to avoid any wet or icy patches, as they could be slippery. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
If you’ve noticed that some of your shingles are flapping in the wind, now is the time to properly nail them down. If any sections of your shingles have come off in a recent windstorm, it’s very important that you get them replaced before any moisture comes down. While there is a tar wrap that goes underneath your shingles, it’s not perfect for keeping out unwanted moisture. Your shingles are a key component to your roof that allow the water to easily flow off of the roof.
You may not think that your dented gutter is going to make a big difference to your home. However, you need to think again. When a gutter becomes dented, it can let water flow onto the side of your house. This water will eventually make its way to the soil by the foundation of your home. This can result in damage to your foundation.
Handling roof damage from winter weather is something that every homeowner needs to learn to deal with. The longer you let damage go, the more likely it is to lead to a costly repair bill in the future. The above four tips should assist you in dealing with the majority of roof damage caused by winter storms.
By Brooke Chaplan
who is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home and residing in Los Lunas, New Mexico.
Member since October, 2019
View all the articles of Brooke Chaplan.