The Dangers of Letting Snow Build Up on Your Roof

The Dangers of Letting Snow Build Up on Your Roof

Snow is an unavoidable problem in many regions, and one that can make life very miserable indeed! It may be beautiful when it coats the streets and gardens in a glorious white sheen, but in fact it is cold, wet and annoying when you have to go out in it to get to work or take the kids to school. We’ve all done those freezing cold, annoying winter mornings where the snow needed clearing before the car could come out of the garage, and they don’t get any more fun!

You may have a snow thrower for clearing the snow from your yard, garden, paths and drive, or you might use a conventional shovel, but either way the certainty is that it needs clearing. The same is true for the snow that builds up on the roof of your house and other buildings, and this can in fact be damaging in the extreme if it is left to settle for too long.

What do you do about snow on the roof, and what is the best way to clear it? The first thing to remember is that it needs to be cleared before there is a great deal, as the added weight of a heavy layer of snow can cause underlying damage to the roof, and its fixtures and fittings.

Care and Attention

There is plenty of advice and help on how best to clear the snow from your roof before it causes damage, at sites such as 5starroofer.com, a great resource for all things to do with roof maintenance, repairs and restoration. They have a page dedicated to the problems with snow on their blog, and it is very informative indeed.

The main problems with snow on the roof come from the combination of the added weight and what happens when it thaws. The sheer weight of a few inches of snow can lead to immediate damage to roof overhangs, which are inherently weak, and this can be very expensive to rectify. It is recommended that you clear your roof of snow when it gets to around six inches; bear in mind that snow can weigh as much as 15lbs per cubic foot – that is very heavy on a roof not designed to bear such weight.

Using a Roof Rake

The best way to remove snow from a roof is to use a dedicated roof rake. There are many different designs of these available, and they usually come with extendable handles so can reach most roofs. They work by dragging the snow down the roof and off, and sometimes you can get them including plastic chutes down which the snow is delivered.

Even so, it is recommended that although you need to remove the snow from your roof regularly, each time you rake you should be extremely careful as the rake itself may damage the fabric of the roof tiles a tiny bit. Check out roof rakes now, and get prepared for the winter months.