When it comes to staying warm and dry in the winter, homeowners have their roofs to thank. Roofs bear the brunt of the most extreme forms of weather and protect families from the harsh elements outside. While the summer brings scorching temperatures and the fall brings gutter-clogging leaves, it is the winter season that brings with it the harshest conditions for most roofs.
During the winter, the shingles on a roof have to protect the home from rain, wind, ice, and snow. A home without a quality roof has little chance of surviving a harsh winter without sustaining some type of weather-related damage, says A&E Roofing owner Greg Jensen. A roof replacement specialist in Portland, Oregon, Jensen says that homeowners need to prepare their roofs yearly for the brutal winter season.
The best way that Jensen recommends preparing a roof for the cold and wet winter climate in the Pacific Northwest is by cleaning off as many leaves as possible before the first snow hits. Getting all the leaves off of a roof – including those stuck in gutters and in the deep valleys that can be hard to reach – can promote proper water flow and prevent leakage.
When a roof has leaves piled up on its shingles, there is an increased probability that rainwater will get backed up. When water gets backed up on top of a roof, it begins to look for places to go. This seepage, so to speak, is what usually leads to minor leaks and repairs.
Of course, even a minor leak is going to be a pain to repair during the winter. Jensen insists that it is always better to do preventative maintenance on a roof to avoid leaf pile-ups in the first place rather than to come in during the winter to fight existing leaks.
In the Pacific Northwest, this is an especially big problem. As a roof replacement specialist in Portland, Jensen says that many of the homes he works on have extensive tree covers that make semi-annual cleanings a necessity. Not only can failing to clean off the leaves on a home’s roof lead to potential interior leaks, but it can also lead to the growth of moss. Moss that is allowed to accumulate on a home’s roof is a real pain, says Jensen, and getting rid of it can become a nightmare for a homeowner who tries to do this type of work on his own.
When moss is allowed to grow on shingles, it will essentially ruin the shingles. This decreases the lifespan of the roof and makes it more likely that a homeowner in Portland will need a roof replacement or – or at the very least, a series of costly repairs – at some point in the future.
As a way to prevent moss from growing in the first place, Jensen recommends that homeowners try putting some type of anti-allergy preventative material on their shingles. Anti-allergy chemicals will prevent mold and moss from growing, making semi-annual cleanups and maintenance calls much easier and less costly.
Among the many great things about these anti-allergy chemicals is that they can be sprinkled on the roof with minimal effort. If and when the chemicals eventually wash off, homeowners do not have to worry about the chemicals hurting their lawns or trees, as they are completely safe for plants and vegetation.
Finally, the last thing that Jensen says homeowners need to watch out for before the busy winter season is signs of rust along overhead skylights or chimneys. The exterior portion of most skylights tends to rust out over time, and this could lead to potential leaks that are difficult to repair.