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Courtney Orton reporting Roofing contractors' phones are ringing off the hook because of all the snow that has buried many homes. Homeowners are worried that snow will cause their roofs to leak and, even worse, collapse. Eyewitness News has some suggestions on what homeowners can do.
With all the snow we've been getting, a lot of roofs are packed with the white stuff. If your roof is one of those, you should probably start shoveling it off.
A good roof can handle a 30- to 40-pound snow load per square foot, but when the sun comes out and starts melting all that snow, you better watch out. "It's like running your car without antifreeze. Ice gets so thick and so strong it pushes on the roof and just rips it apart," explained Ron Case, of Ron Case Roofing and Asphalt Paving.
South Summit Middle School's roof collapsed on Friday when an eight-foot snow drift became too heavy. Luckily, no one was inside. But the damage could take several months to fix.
"Lots of problems, lots of leaks causing a lot of problems to ceilings and walls, and possibly some mold," Case said. He says he's been getting 50 to 60 calls every couple of days to help remove snow from roofs.
In fact, that's what he's doing today, and that's what he recommends homeowners start doing before it causes what's called "ice damming." "As it melts, it comes down and forms ice along the bottom and it creates ice damming so the water can't get off. It comes down and hits the ice dam [and] starts coming inside your warm walls," Case explained.
Homeowners should keep an eye on their roofs. If you do decide to remove the snow, you may want to call in a professional. It's possible you can cause more damage to the roof by shoveling it off if you don't know what you're doing.
