We all know that time of year, when the cold seeps through the walls no matter how much insulation we’ve installed and no matter how many layers of blankets we put on, we’re still chilly.
Now, imagine that chill but double it (or maybe even triple it) – it sounds pretty miserable, right? Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of people who have roof damage during the colder seasons of the year have to deal with.
When it’s not taken care of right away, it tends to just get worse and worse. That’s the nature of roof damage in general, of course, but throughout the winter months, the elements can take their toll even more than they might otherwise.
Snow is the least of it, and even that is a real pain. That’s definitely true in most parts of Canada, as I’m sure you already know. If you’re in the Calgary area, you might be wondering how you can get a problem like this solved if it does come up.
After all, as you can see here, https://disastersafety.org/winter-weather/prevent-roof-damage-from-heavy-snow-and-ice/, these incidents are even classified as natural disasters sometimes.
Blizzards are definitely nothing to take lightly, and it’s important that we keep all parts of our home in tip-top shape.
How the Elements Can Damage our Roofs
When I first became a homeowner, I’ll admit that I wasn’t really all that worried about the roofing on my home.
It felt like a bit of an afterthought, really – like, sure, it is something that needs to be maintained. How much would it really matter, though? As it turns out, it was a pretty big deal.
I found that out pretty quickly, unfortunately. Since I live up in a cold area, we get a ton of snow each year. What was a small leak in one of my ceilings in the summer ended up becoming a huge cave-in in the winter.
Talk about a worst nightmare, right? Of course, it was totally freezing out too, so my family ended up having to stay in a hotel for a few weeks while it was all repaired.
At the time, I hadn’t really considered what my options were to help prevent that from happening. Getting yearly inspections wasn’t even something that I was aware of.
When I found out about companies like Mega Roofing & Exteriors Inc., though, I realized that it’s actually not a bad idea to get those scheduled as soon as possible. That’s what lets folks catch the issues early on.
If you didn’t know, it isn’t just the snow itself that makes things hard during the winter though. Storms can bring about damage in other ways, most often via trees that fall down and wreak havoc.
They can even cause a total cave-in if they happen to fall in an unpleasant spot – it happens more often than you might think. Preparing for the winter is rather important because of that, but rain in the other seasons can cause plenty of trouble too.
Even the hot, bright sun in summer can make some of the tiles on your roof crack and break. Those are just a few of the things that we need to be vigilant about.
Disaster Prevention
As much as we wish we could truly predict the weather, sometimes we just can’t. That’s where prevention comes in when it comes to maintenance and your entire home – not just your roof!
Blogs like this one can offer some other insights in regard to how this works, since it does take a lot of time and energy to adequately prep a property.
When I say “disaster” prevention, I’m not referring to the weather patterns themselves. Instead, I’m talking about what we can do to prevent the negative “side effects” so to speak.
For instance, getting a tree trimmed before the branches become a big threat to your home is one way that we can do this effectively. Getting inspections as regularly as you can is another one, and mostly for things like your roof and the foundation to your home.
Obviously, you don’t have to go through literally everything to check on them. However, it doesn’t hurt to get an all-encompassing inspection at least once every five years in addition to what I’ve covered so far.
Handling Crises
The next question that I find a lot of folks have with this is, what do you do when disaster actually does strike? Well, there are a few options of course, each with some of their own pros and cons.
For the most part, though, I typically end up calling an emergency repair service. Now, while it might not be viable for everyone depending on where you live, in the Calgary area we do have plenty of options available.
As you can see here, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/06/how-to-protect-your-house-from-costly-winter-weather-damage.html, it’s important to always be vigilant about this stuff.
You never know when you have a total disaster on your hands until it’s too late if you don’t stay on top of keeping your home maintained. Even the smallest signs that there’s a problem mean that you may want to call in a repairman or contractor.
What can they do? Well, some services even offer twenty-four-hour options, if something does end up happening in the middle of the night.
Most of the time you’ll have some sort of consultation on the phone, and then once you finish, they send someone out to take a look in person.
Depending on the damage, it could take a few days – but, most of the time, emergency contractors are able to get it all fixed within a day or two.
So, next time that you’re scrambling to deal with weather damage on your roof tiles or a stray branch that’s fallen on top of your home, hopefully you think back to this article and remember some of the resources that I’ve provided.
Even if emergency contractors cost a bit more sometimes, the convenience factor alone makes it well worth it.
