It’s only November, but winter’s not that far off. Soon, we’ll be complaining about how cold it is and worrying whether or not we’re going to get snow. Even in Greenville, it still snows every now and then. That’s why it’s important that you take steps now to prevent any damage to your roof this winter. If you don’t remove snow from your roof, or get a professional to do it, you’re going to create a cumulative problem. Whatever snow you leave is going to partially melt and then turn to ice. This means the next time it snows, you’re going to have snow on top of ice. This will eventually become impossible to remove safely. It’s also going to cause serious damage to your roof and the inside of your home.
There are some things you can do to safely remove snow from your roof. You can also do a few things to prevent future snowfalls from destroying your property. Here, we’ll provide a few tips that will help you protect your property from damage this winter.
There are actually right and wrong ways to remove the snow from your roof. The most important thing is that you don’t use a shovel. They’re heavy and dangerous. Not only can they cause damage to your roof, but they can also hurt you. When it’s cold and windy out, the last thing you should be doing is swinging a heavy, metal shovel on your roof.
What you should do is use a roof rake. They come with 16-foot handles so you don’t have to worry about climbing around on your roof. You can even do this from the ground if your house is low enough. Grab as much snow as you can and knock it off the roof.
You also want to work on clearing the snow in sections. Do some on the left side of your house and then some on the right. Otherwise, if for some reason you don’t finish, you’re going to have one side with heavy snow on it. This will create an imbalance that can cause your roof to collapse.
Some people like to install snow guards rather than worry about the snow piling up on their roof. These are just hard plastic guards that allow the snow to slowly fall off your roof rather than dump off in big avalanches. They also let the water from the melting snow drip off rather than forcing them to freeze and create ice dams in your gutters.
Ice dams are created when water builds up in your gutters and is allowed to freeze. There are a few ways you can prevent this from happening:
Prevention is always more important than making repairs. Some of the problems you can prevent by making sure snow and ice doesn’t build up on your roof include:
All of these can be very costly to repair. Rather than deal with that, just follow the tips suggested here. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
If you have a flat roof, it may be a good idea to leave a little bit of snow on your roof. This is especially true if you don’t have an attic that you can use to cool your roof. If you keep a small amount of snow on your roof, it will almost serve as insulation. This will keep your roof from freezing. It can also serve as a buffer for any new snow and ice that may fall on your roof.
If you’re not sure whether this is a good idea for your home, call an experienced roofer in Greenville, South Carolina.
It’s important that you take the right steps now to protect your roof from snow damage. You should contact an experienced roofer at Lanier Roofing. They’ll come out and give you a free estimate. It’s better to do the work now so you’re not paying for it later.
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