It’s that time of year again where snow and ice can become a major problem for roofs. Snow and ice is not only dangerous to humans, its also dangerous for your roof, and it can cause some serious damage to your home as well through roof leaks.
Here are 3 ways that snow and ice negatively impact your roof:
Stress Caused By the Weight of the Snow
Snow is heavy. Even a few inches can cause hundreds of pains of weight on your roof. This causes stress on the home as well as the shingles. The roof can cave in due to the accumulation of the snowfall if it's too heavy. This is rare in Oklahoma, but it can happen on flat roofs or any roof not properly shingled. Also, as it melts from the sun, the melting snow then freezes to ice, causing ice blocks. As these ice blocks increase with weight, the stress of the roof increases also posing a higher risk of cave-ins.
Gutter Damage from Ice Dams
If there is enough ice accumulating on the roof, it can form ice dams. This is caused by ice and snow melting, flowing down the roof and then freezing at the edge of the roof. Ice dams can cause major gutter damage and may even tear the guttering from the home. After any heavy snow do a quick walk around the house and look for any damage to your guttering or lower shingles.
Freezing and Thawing - Damage From Cracking
Due to the accumulation of snow and ice, cracks can become present. When water seeps into even the tiniest cracks, this could pose a major issue for your roof as freezing causes the water to expand inside the crack. Not only can this cause leaks into your home, but the cracks can become much more prominent. Even the smallest cracks can expand and can even cause the shingles to move resulting in even more damage and possibly more leaks.
If you think you need roof repair, or are worried about your shingles, give us a call. We are the Tulsa roof repair pros! We will walk you through the complete process of replacing or repairing your damaged roof as well as the inspection of it. Give them a call today. See why we are one of the top Jenks / Tulsa Roofing companies.