How To Protect An Aging Roof In A Blizzard

If your roof is older and has begun showing signs of wear, you may feel particularly anxious when a blizzard or big snowstorm starts heading in your direction. Are you doomed to have half your shingles go missing? Are you going to wake up to a vaded-in roof? While it's impossible to say whether these things will happen or not, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of a roof problem in an upcoming blizzard.

Make sure your gutters are clear. 

If you have time before the blizzard hits and it is safe to do so, climb up on a ladder and make sure you remove all of the debris from your gutters. If any of your gutters are loose, tighten their fasteners. (Often, this just means tightening some screws.) When a blizzard dumps a bunch of snow on your roof, some of that snow may melt. 

Clear gutters ensure the water has a place to go, so it does not just freeze into ice that ends up weighing down your roof or making shingles peel. Reattaching loose gutters will prevent them from banging into your roof and causing damage to its edges during high winds.

During breaks in the wind, try raking snow off the roof.

Do you have time to get to a home improvement store and buy a snow rake before the blizzard hits? If you can, this will be so helpful. One concern with older roofs is that they might collapse under the snow load from a big blizzard. When you have a snow rake, you can listen for lulls in the blizzard. When the wind dies down and you feel it is safe to do so, you can venture outside and rake some snow off the roof. Even if you can only clear some of the snow away, every little bit helps.

Lock all of your windows.

This might seem like an odd step to take, but it's pretty important and fairly easy. If you lock all of your windows, you seal them more tightly into the frame. With less air leakage, your home is less likely to suffer a sudden change in pressure that may cause the roof to blow off.

If your roof is older, there is a good chance you will need to have some shingles replaced after a big blizzard. But by following the steps above, you can at least minimize the roof damage.

Contact a roofer to find out more. 


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