As the leaves start turning color and the air temperature slowly drops, it’s time to prepare yourself and your commercial roof for the winter months. When winterizing your office or commercial property, it’s crucial to remember the roof’s condition since it’s the main component between the weather and your employees. So, it’s advisable to look toward roofing companies to assist in preparing your roof for the cold season.
Maintenance of essential roofing materials can help the building’s interior remain warm and comfortable during winter. Simple touches can make an enormous difference and prevent costly repairs that ice dams and leaks can cause down the line. Follow these tips to prepare your roof for a frigid winter to ensure adequate roof insulation.
As a business owner, you must anticipate snow and ice. The presence of snow may be visually appealing from afar, and it may look like a postcard, but it can cause pressure on the roof and structure of the building. When temperatures drop overnight, snow and ice will build up, but the ice melts to become ice dams when the air temperature increases. These are dangerous as they could move the shingles and cause leakages.
When you hire a roofing contractor to conduct a proper maintenance check, they will inspect the condition of the shingles. If you have several damaged shingles, it’s advisable to replace them in preparation for winter.
Roof flashing is another element that helps move water away from certain parts of the roof. Usually, these are the common areas where you’d find leaks, so the roofing professional must seal the flashing. Flashing can also become warped over time, but only a reliable contractor would notice this upon inspection.
Winter usually brings high winds, and you need to prepare your roof for the harshest of windstorms. The last thing you want is the roof shingles blowing off and causing damage to other parts of the roof resulting in costly repairs after the cold season.
On the note of heavy winds, you must trim overgrown trees with branches hanging over the roof. It’s a major hazard as older trees tend to buckle under the pressure of high winds, and if a branch lands on the roof, it could inflict serious damage. Look around your commercial property for these hazardous signs and address them immediately with your local roofing contractor.
Even though gutters aren’t part of the roof, they work in harmony to transfer excess water safely away from the foundation of a building. Before winter begins, you should hire a contractor to clean out the gutters by removing dirt and debris. These elements can cause substantial blockages, leading to the development of ice dams. If you notice icicles forming on the gutters, there’s likely an ice dam forming which you must address immediately to avoid gutter damage.
When preparing your roof for winter, you must hire a professional with in-depth knowledge about what to do to avoid costly roof repairs after a snowstorm. With all the expenses companies must meet in today’s economy, you don’t need another element adding to those numbers. However, you can avoid this by hiring a roofing professional to maintain the roof in top condition and equip it to handle the winter months.
