Snow Removal 101 — And When You Should Call The Pros
With cold weather around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll tackle snow removal this year. Whether you have residential or commercial roofing needs,
If possible, you’ll want to safely clear your roof every six inches to a foot of snowfall. Letting snow sit there can cause too much weight on your roof, dangerous icicles, and ice dams. If you can accomplish at least partial snow removal with a plastic-edge shovel or roof rake a couple of times during the winter season, you should do so. Be careful to avoid damaging shingles and other roofing material under the snow.
If you’re wondering about commercial roofing, much of which is flat, find out if it is structurally safe to access the roof and shovel the snow to a safe, blocked-off area. Be careful of piping and HVAC equipment. If your roof is especially large or cluttered, you guessed it — call a professional!
Skip the ladder. It’s incredibly unsafe to be climbing a ladder and walking around your roof with snow and ice, and nobody wants to ruin the holiday season with a broken leg, or worse.
Sometimes removing every six inches of snowfall doesn’t cut it. Even a little snow or sleet can cause an issue like ice dams in the right conditions. If ice dams do form, you want to take action quickly or risk damage to your shingles and gutters that could allow serious leaks into your roof and home.
Water damage is usually the cheapest of elemental damages to fix, at least compared to wind or fire damage, but it’s still nothing to sneeze at. Water damage repair costs an average of $2,386, which raises to an average of $2,688 if you’re dealing with damage from standing water. Water damage also leads to more expensive issues in the long run, like dangerous mold and rot.
If you’re already seeing possible damage from ice dams, you’ll want to call your residential roofing or commercial roofing service to check it out ASAP. There are some methods you can finagle with calcium chloride ice melt to potentially get rid of ice dams yourself, but salting your roof could result in discolored shingles and problems with your lawn growth when the snow melts in the spring. The potential damage of a partially formed ice dam is such a pain, you may want to start with professional help from the very beginning.
Need the power of St Louis snow removal’s greatest trade secrets on your side? Call the leader in St Louis roof repairs, 1stChoiceSTL. Not only is 1stChoiceSTL experienced in recognizing the first signs of roof damage, but we offer the full gamut of salting, de-icing, shoveling and plowing to keep harsh Missouri winters in line.
