How does ice impact your roof?

Homeowners and professionals alike know the impact that mother nature has on roofs, especially in Texas. Heavy rains, high winds, hailstorms, and ice can cause serious damages to your roof’s structure, appearance, and integrity. It’s important to perform frequent inspections to make sure you are catching any issues before they become an expensive fix, such as an entire roof replacement.

How does ice impact your roof?
While rain can add weight to your roof, it runs straight off the sides, into your gutters (unless your roof is flat). However, elements such as ice and snow, tend to stick around for as long as the temperature will allow. In some cases, ice and snow can cause a roof to collapse due to excessive weight. When your roof is covered in snow or ice, it’s hard to see if there are any damages. However, if you look inside your home for signs of structural stress you may find signs of those damages. Such as; leaks in the roof, tiles coming away from the ceiling, etc.

Excess weight
As stated above, excess weight will impact your roof significantly. If you see signs of stress, it is important to contact a structural engineer to inspect and make an assessment of damages.

Icicles
While beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing during the winter months, this is usually a sign that many homeowners don’t recognize as an issue with their roofs and gutters. Icicles usually indicate an issue with your roof and gutters. Potentially if you notice the formation of icicles can also occur if your gutters have a blockage of dirt or other debris. Icicles are extremely heavy which also adds not only weight but poses a serious risk to a person below.

Ice dams
An ice dam happens when ice or snowmelt and then refreeze before it has a chance to run off into the gutter system and onto the ground below. This creates standing water, making it harder for the roof to remain clear, in turn causing serious water damages to your roof.

Freeze and thaw cycles
During a freeze and thaw cycle, water will seep into the cracks in your roof, expand, and once the water freezes, the cracks widen. This causes damages to your roof, as well as the interior of your home. The end result can be mold and mildew in your living areas.

How to prevent winter roof damage
It’s important to keep up with regular maintenance such as roof and gutter inspections. This is the best way to safeguard your roof against winter damages. Always hire a professional to inspect your roof, not only is that the safest option, but also the most reliable.

Want to know how to de-ice your roof?
Removing snow and ice is not a job for the homeowner. It can be extremely dangerous therefore it is vital to hire a professional roofing contractor to do the job! There are several ways that snow and ice can be removed from the roof by using specialized procedures such as;

  • Heat Cables
    This procedure usually takes place BEFORE the ice comes. Laying down heat cables in a zig-zag pattern to the roof, and in the side, your gutters will help create heat channels where water can drain.
  • Snow Rakes
    This is a specially designed shovel that is used to remove snow from your roof.
  • Chemicals
    De-icing chemicals work well, but they come at a cost. It’s important to have this done professionally as one of the biggest mistakes made by homeowners wanting to do it themselves is using sodium chloride or calcium chloride. While they work fast, these chemicals cause corrosion on your roof.

Call in the professionals
If your roof is iced or snowed over, call the professionals here at 1845RM. Addressing concerns before they become major issues will help keep your roof, and pocketbook healthy and happy.