How to Protect Your Roof Before a Winter Storm
Protecting your home from winter weather starts long before the storm. There are a few things you steps should take before an ice storm to protect your roof.
The first step is taken when you first have your new roof installed. Ice and Water membrane is a modified bitumen layer with a self adhering surface designed to seal around nail holes and protect from ice dams. Ice and Water can (and should) be used in multiple locations on your roof. MCSquared Roofing installs Ice and Water along all gutter edges of your roof, valleys, roof to wall connections and at protrusions i.e. chimneys, skylights and pipes. This is code in many jurisdictions and just a good idea in the rest.
The second step is to ask your local roofing pro to inspect your roof annually to catch any vulnerabilities before bad weather exposes them. The condition of your roof can change quickly. Freezing and thawing can destroy concrete sidewalks and driveways… imagine what it can do to your roof. That\’s not even considering the strong wind, rain and possible hail damage that we get with thunderstorms through out the warmer months. Even if your roof looks okay from the ground and you haven\’t noticed signs of a leak in your home, have a roof inspection each fall is always a good idea. MCSquared Roofing offers online scheduling for your roof inspection, and includes a five year maintenance and inspection with every new roof we install to go along with our lifetime workmanship warranty.
The last tip for avoiding winter weather damage to your home is to make sure any trees surrounding or over hanging your home are trimmed and healthy. We\’ve all seen the limbs that litter the ground after an ice storm. If a quarter sized hail stone can damage your roof, a tree limb can destroy entire sections of your roof. If accessible you can inspect and trip your own trees, but an arborist will be able to evaluate the health of your trees and address potential hazards.
After a Winter Storm
So the storm is over and, weather you took the three steps above or not, it\’s time to check your roof for damage. Some damage can be seen from the ground like limbs laying on your roof, raised or cracked shingles and bent, punctured or dented metal gutters or flashing. If anything looks amiss from the ground, it\’s time to call in the roofing pros to once again safely inspect your full roof system and repair any damage that may be found. Roof inspections are a service that is offered at no cost by many roofing contractors including MCSquared Roofing. Once an ice storm is over and the ice has (mostly) melted away, it’s important to check your roof for damage. Always do so from the ground, where conditions are safe. Even hard-to-see damage can result in massive water damage.
What to do About Storm Damage
If you can see any damage from the ground, call in a local roofing professional right away. The longer you wait to repair any damaged components of the roof, the higher the risk of severe water damage to your home\’s interior. The sooner after a storm that you reach out to your local roofer the better. Roofing contractors get very busy immediately after a storm and it may end up being weeks before anyone can make it out to inspect your roof. If bad weather strikes again before you are able to address your roof damage you may be in for cascading damage to your homes attic and interior.
Has your roof been damaged by our recent winter storms?
MCSquared Roofing is happy to offer hassle free roof inspections and repairs with our online scheduling and contactless services.
Schedule at your convenience at MyRoofer.com or call us anytime at 1-336-988-ROOF (7663)
