Our 3 Top Winter Roof Maintenance Tips
The last thing that you want during the winter months is to have to replace or get a new roof. Leaks can occur at any time of the year if proper and essential maintenance isn’t carried out regularly to keep your roof in tip-top condition.
We’ve listed three of the quickest and easiest tips to help maintain your roof and hopefully prevent any issues during the winter months,
1. Clear Debris
During the winter months, strong winds will move all kinds of dirt and debris across your roof. It is important that you look to remove this as soon as possible to prevent any blockages in your gutters and downspouts. Pine needles, leaves and all kinds of dirt and grime can quickly accumulate to block important areas. If that water can’t exit your roof the way it was designed to then it will find other ways and that could mean through your property, and no one wants a roof leaking in winter!
It is often recommended to check your gutters twice a year, we would recommend doing this at the beginning of winter, ideally just after all the leaves have fallen from any closely located trees. If there are a lot of trees within the immediate vicinity then you might want to check this more often to keep everything running as smoothly as possible.
2. Repair Flashing
At the beginning of your winter roof maintenance routine, it is important to take a look at your existing flashing. Is it still in good condition? Does it look like it’s coming away or can you spot any rips or tears in it? If so, then you’ll need to get it repaired quickly or you could find water and moisture entering your property resulting in needing an entirely new roof – not ideal in the winter months.
It is important to check this even if your flashing has been recently replaced as over time it can become warped or even loosen.
3. Remove Snow
We all know that the British weather is any but predictable. In recent years, however, seeing snow in winter has been a more common occurrence. While it may look nice to have your rooftop covered in snow, left to sit too long, it can cause havoc, especially if you’re roof has seen better days.
Even if the snow is left to melt, an ice dam can be caused when the temperatures dip at night and re-freeze the precipitation. Any sort of dam, in and around the gutters can cause a backup or blockage which, if left, could result in a new roof being required.
If you’ve carried out all of our winter roof maintenance tips and do find that you are having problems with your roof and need a replacement then why not check out our EPDM calculator and let us do all the hard work for you. Simply put in the measurements of your roof, add a few details and we’ll get everything you need together for a new EPDM Rubber Roof that will last for 50 years!