It may not quite be time to hang your holiday lights from the gutters, but it’s a good idea to climb up on the roof this week and be sure you are ready for the winter weather. Nature, with her cruel sense of humor, drops layers of leaves on our roofs and gutters right up until the bitter cold sets in. If you aren’t diligent about cleaning out your gutters, they will be obstructed at the worst time: when an early snowfall begins to melt quickly and can’t drain properly. A buildup of ice and snow or a downspout obstruction can spell real trouble in the winter, says Ross Appledorn, CEO of Feazel, Inc., which is a leader in roofing in both the Cincinnati and Columbus areas. 

Ice and water shields, which may be unfamiliar to some veteran homeowners, have been required for new homes and replacement roofs in Columbus for the past 10 years, according to current building codes. If your home doesn’t have these shields, consider having them installed to prevent ice damming.

Winter Roof Preparation Tips - Attic

Appledorn suggests that you take a trip into your attic, once you are finished cleaning the gutters. He says it’s quite common for exhaust fans, kitchen vents and other vents to be exhausting their hot air into the attic, instead of out the roof. “The worst thing you can do in winter is send hot humid air into the attic,” says Appledorn. The warmth in the attic melts the snow on the roof, exacerbating ice damming. He suggested checking for the problem by crawling around the attic to make sure that above each exhaust fan or vent is visible a flexible hose or a duct taking the hot air from the top of the fan, through the attic, and out the room. “It’s very common for someone to have taken a shortcut and just dumped that into the attic,” he says. In a well-ventilated attic, daylight should be filtering in through the ventilation points. Good insulation will also help protect the roof from temperature extremes. 

If you aren’t sure about the health of your roof and attic heading into winter, call Feazel. Feazel offers a free 17-point inspection to anybody who calls us in the Cincinnati or Columbus areas.