Winter brings many different situations you might have thought were avoidable with a new roof. Most people who get roof replacements think that they’re fine if large amounts of snow accumulate on their roofs. Latham roofing contractors say our winter seasons are very unpredictable, one winter we’ll have snow blizzards throughout the whole season and the next no snow whatsoever. Being prepared is the best solution for your roof’s overall health during large snow falls. We spoke to some of our Latham NY roof replacement specialists to get a better understanding and more information to support our claims.

When there is a large snow fall, many will ask, when is it time to start cleaning off the snow? Well, we asked our roof replacement contractors in Latham, they replied and told us that when a roof has a foot or more of snow, then it should be removed. When snow is over a foot, it starts to add a lot of weight to the roof. When there’s that much weight, it can sometimes sag the roof and damage the overall structure of the roof itself. The best solution is to just go up on the roof and start shoveling the snow off. If snow is left on the surface of the roof, it can potentially build an ice dam preventing water from running down. This could become very dangerous for your home because the water will try and find an escape in any small crack in the shingles. The water will get into the shingles, then it will eventually form into ice, making small damages here and there reducing the overall health of the roof. Not all roofs need snow removal depending on the pitch of the roof, usually the high pitch roofs will not need removal. Low pitched roofs will have snow build up, it won’t move because there isn’t enough pitch to get the snow to fall off. In the low-pitched areas, our roofing contractors in Latham put ice and water guard to protect the decking from getting exposed to it during rain and snow falls.

Many people will clean their roofs themselves, but being on a roof is dangerous, especially if you don’t have the proper experience. Safety should be your major concern because the roof is a dangerous place already, but snow and ice make it ten times riskier. If you are not capable of cleaning your roof, then you should call Latham NY roofing contractors and see if they have roof snow removal services. Many will have this service due to roof replacements being low during the winter seasons. Want to avoid cleaning snow off your roof? Well there is an alternative, it’s a bit pricey but to some, totally worth it. Heat tape, or heat cables, wires that are run on the lower part of the roof that have constant heat top prevent ice dams and icicles from forming. Not always the prettiest sight, but it does its job.

Snow can lead to ice buildup around gutters and low pitched areas adding an increasing amount of weight all around the house. This can also lead to ice falling down onto the siding and damaging that as well. If left untreated ice can also potentialy hurt someone walking by under the side of your roof. Ice can sometimes raise up shingles when it forms. Snow is just water anyways, so it can also sprout out leaks in the roof as well. Depending if there were damages beforehand it could make it a lot worse.

If you’re going to attempt to clean off the snow, then its best that we get to the best procedures. If you’re going to use a shovel do not use a metal edged shovel. The metal edge can damage the shingles and ruin the preservation of plywood decking. Never shovel upwards toward the top of the roof, always shovel down and try not to press large amounts of pressure against the shingles. Its best to not shovel frequently, and try not to walk on the snow as much. If you’re not using a shovel but a better easier tool like the rake, its fine. The rake can help get the snow When you walk on the snow, you impact the snow into the creases of the shingles making snow stuck inside. The best way to start is to get on top almost at the ridge vent and working your way down from there, be careful not to damage the ridge vent strips. Please for the sake of everyone in the roofing industry, DON’T spread salt on the shingles. Salt is used for roads not shingles, it will discolor and potentially ruin the shingles if applied.

Our roofers in Latham have told us about previous customers trying to clean roofs. There was a situation in which one customer had gone up and started to shovel the roof. While shoveling, the home owner had miss stepped and slipped, falling of the roof, the customer had broken his arm. Realize that the best thing any home owner can do is let others take care of it instead of putting yourself in a risky situation. There are many dangers when it comes to being on the roof, take some precautions if you’re still going to try and clean the snow yourself.

There have been many times where someone would walk past a window and feel a cold breeze pass them. This is usually a big indicator that there’s a window open or broken. When a window starts to fail the trim around the window will have faults in it that allow for cold air to come in. by adding a small amount of silicon this can help prevent the cold from entering and the heat from leaving. This is just a temporary fix until the window can be replaced. Whatever you may have to do to keep everything maintained, be careful on the roof, and make sure that you know what you’re doing. Just little heads up, if you’re considering hiring someone in the capital region like Latham NY, hire a good roofing company like Home Evolution and get everything your home needs. We take care of our customer’s needs, we have great customer service along with great response time. Home evolution does everything like roofing, siding, and window replacements.