It’s never too early to winterize your home. Considering that cold weather isn’t comfortable for doing roofing work, you can get more things done when it’s still relatively warm.
Here’s why you should seek professional roofing and siding services before the start of winter:
Seal All Leaks
Deal with every single break in your home’s building envelope, especially the roof. In addition to being unsightly, ruined roofing materials offer weak defense against the elements. When left unchecked, they can easily cause leaks, which can wreak havoc on your interior.
Problem areas aren’t always visible to the untrained eye from the ground. It takes a thorough professional inspection to identify minor and major causes for concern, and schedule damaged roof repair jobs in a timely fashion.
Fix Inadequate Attic Ventilation
Not everything in your home should be warm during the winter. Your attic temperature should be as close to the outdoor temperature as possible. If it struggles to breathe out warm air, heat can build up. In turn, this increases the chances of ice damming.
When snow falls onto the roof planes, the hot attic can cause it to melt. However, the overhangs are usually colder since they naturally extend beyond the edges of exterior walls. As a result, the snowmelt refreezes upon reaching the gutters, creating hazardous ridges of ice or icicles.
Having good attic ventilation is the single most important technique to stop ice dams effectively. It can lead to snow accumulation, but local roofers would say that it’s another issue that isn’t necessarily destructive or perilous in nature.
Keep Gutters Clean
Clean gutters and downspouts to ensure that your roof’s drainage system remains functional throughout the snowy months, which is critical to avoiding moisture damage and leakage. When littered with tree branches and leaves, some of the water won’t reach the ground safely. As a consequence, it can reach decay-susceptible construction elements like wooden fascia boards or rafters. Plus, it raises the likelihood of ice dam formation.
Ridding your gutter system of debris is an unenviable job, but it’s an important one. If your yard has plenty of tall trees, your gutters and downspouts might need cleaning twice a year.
Ready your home for the winter with Napolitano Roofing. Call us at (860) 265-4001 to discuss your roofing needs and receive a FREE estimate. We serve homeowners in East Hartford, Manchester or any neighboring Connecticut areas.
