Chicago winters are not only very
cold – they are very snowy as well, levels of winter precipitation sometimes
reaching over 90 inches per season. While snow is an important component of
winter, essential for the great and cozy holiday atmosphere, it is also very
heavy and it presses very hard on any surface that it settles on. Roofs are
especially sensitive to the weight of the blankets of snow they get covered in
– here are some types of damage that roofs can suffer because of snow:
-
Ice dams – the long icicles
that form at the edge of the roof are caused by the contact between the warm
air rising from your rooms to the roof and the snow on the surface of the roof.
The heat melts the deeper layers of the snow on the roof, turning it into water
that runs down on the roof slope and freezes again at the edge of the
structure. Ice dams are dangerous because they drag down the roof edge or the
gutter, so they are best removed;
-
Weight issues – snow is
also very heavy and it can cause pressure-related roof damage, such as cracks
in the roofing cover, roof sagging or leaks. The best way to prevent
weight-related damage is to get a roof rake and to remove the layer of snow
from the roof if it gets too thick. At best, contact the Algonquin roofing contractors to clear the snow for you and conduct a roof inspection as soon as weather permits.
