This is the time of year when homeowners find themselves dreading the ice and damning the dams — the ice dams that form on eaves and along the edges of roofs. Ice dams are formed when snow — as little as one or two inches will do the trick — on a roof, is melted by heat leaking through the roof from the attic. The melting snow runs down the roof and refreezes at the roof edge, where there’s no house heat to keep the snow in liquid form.
It’s ironic that we build homes to last 100 or more years, but we accept it’s reasonable to replace the roof many times in the life of the house.
So when is it a good time to replace your roof? The age and leaking would be the most obvious signs but other factors such as, previous unfixed hail damage, high heating and cooling costs, ice damming, staining on your interior walls, musty smells, and carpenter ants can all give you additional clues that it is time for a new roof.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that typically forms at the lower edge of the roof allowing water to pool behind it. Untreated water leakage from behind an ice dam can penetrate into the home which can cause exterior and interior damage.
Where Has All The Asphalt Gone? Petroleum has always given asphalt shingles their longevity. Lately, that component has been reduced. Petroleum has been replaced with a combination of asphalt saturated paper and limestone. Gugger adds, “The heft of the shingles has stayed the same; however the materials used are much less durable and have diminished longevity. As a result, people who a want a roof system they can depend on over time and are aware of this situation, are considering permanent alternatives such as metal roofs.”
The roof is part of a system including the roof itself, gutters, soffits, siding, ventilation and other systems within the home. Certainly, roofs can wear out over time. However, if your roof requires repair or replacement pre-maturely, there is a good chance something within the system is not functioning correctly and has accelerated the aging process.
Guest
| 
