3 Things You Can Do Right Now To Prepare Your Roof For Winter

Fortunately for most homeowners, they rarely have to think about their roofs. But if there’s any time of year where you should pay some attention to the roof, it’s right now, before winter sets in. 

If you don’t prepare your roof for the winter months, you could end up with a roof leak, higher energy bills or, when you least expect it, needing to call a company that does professional roof repair in Toronto and the GTA.

How to Prepare Your Roof for Winter

As the winter season approaches, it’s a good idea to do the following now to save you lots of time, headaches and costs later on.

1. Inspect Your Roof – We do not recommend going up on your roof to do an inspection. But doing a roof check from the ground can show you signs of potential problems that tell you it’s time to call a professional and get your roof properly inspected. Look for curled, cracked, damaged or missing shingles. It’s especially important to check the perimeter of the roof. Shingle issues there can end up leading to big problems if ice dams form on your roof during the winter.
2. Clean Your Eavestroughs – We don’t recommend you clean any eaves that are higher than the first floor of your home. Cleaning your eavestroughs now will improve the runoff from your roof, which can happen on milder days even in the middle of winter. The runoff will get channeled away from your home before it freezes in your eavestrough and causes backups and/or ice dams.
3. Check Your Attic Insulation – If the insulation in your attic is damp, the moisture can reduce its ability to insulate. That can allow more of the warm air from the house to get into the attic. When that happens in winter weather, the warmer air in the attic can melt snow on the roof. The melted snow will run down the roof, but it may freeze into ice when it gets over the roof extensions, which will not be as warm as the rest of the roof. When that happens, ice dams can form, potentially damaging your shingles, lifting them and allowing moisture to get into your roof. 

Of course, you can always contact the pros to take a look and winterize your home. Contact us today to request a quote for your next service. If you enjoyed this article, check out our recent post on how to spot wind damage on roofs.