Check Your Roof for Damage before the Winter Begins

We’ve had some pretty harsh winters in the UK over the past few  years and these seem to have taken their toll in many ways.  Last winter saw many people abandoning their cars and having to travel everywhere on foot or by public transport (it was actually available) as the snow seemed to settle for quite a while and driving conditions were really dangerous.

As well as affecting vehicles, the cold weather seems to have had quite an adverse effect on several buildings and we’ve probably all had to undertake some minor repair jobs on the houses we live in.  While it’s quite easy to see where the damage has been done on the outside walls and any external buildings like garages and sheds, it’s not often obvious how much damage has been done to the roof.

Snow Problem

Snow is heavy and puts quite a lot of pressure on the roofs of buildings, especially when it takes so long to clear as it did last year.  During the winter storms, we hear tales of trees falling onto buildings – this will usually make the local headlines.  However, many roofs are damaged by branches falling off trees in high winds.  They might not actually visibly damage the roof, but you can be sure that they will have caused some sort of weakness that needs to be checked.

Most of us, when we arrive home, tend to focus on the front of the house, especially the front door.  After all, that’s exactly where we’re heading, anxious to get inside after a long day at work or picking up the kids from school.  If we’re coming home from a shopping trip, we’re usually so busy trying to unload all the bags from the car and carry them inside in one trip, that we tend to hardly focus on the front of the house at all.

Not many of us look up at the roof of the house on a regular basis.  When we do, it’s usually because a tile has come loose and fallen and we’re trying to work out where it’s come from!  However, this summer it would be a good idea to take a closer look at your roof and see if it’s in good enough condition to weather another winter as harsh as the last.  Most buildings in the UK have a pitched roof which will allow rain to run off easily and the slope will often cause the snow to slide off as soon as it starts to melt.

Up on the Roof

Ordinary house roofs in Britain are formed by roof trusses which are designed with two sloping sides which are placed onto the load-bearing walls and slope upwards to meet at the apex.  This is quite a strong type of construction that should cope reasonably well with the amount of wind we have in the UK.  However, the tiles that cover the roof can often become loose in windy weather and this may have a knock-on effect, causing the tiles surrounding the loose one to also become a bit loose.

Fixing a roof is not a job that we tend to undertake ourselves – it needs all manner of special ladders and safety equipment and is really best left to the experts.  They have all the right tools and equipment that enables them to inspect your roof and carry out any maintenance work that may be required in a safe and professional manner.

Check for Damage

Take a good look at your roof over the summer to see if you can spot any signs of damage or loose tiles that may not survive another winter intact.  If you see any signs of damage, it’s worth calling in a team of professionals to fix the problem before next winter starts.  This could save you a lot of worry in the long run.  Damage and loose tiles that are not put right now could result in further damage in the middle of next winter.  By then, the problems will have got worse and it may be much harder to find somebody to come out and fix your roof when it’s either blowing a gale or snowing hard.  A little bit of preventative roof medicine during the warm weather could go a long way towards avoiding a much larger job later on in the year.

Call in the Professionals

If you’re not sure what to look for when inspecting your roof, then a good idea is to get in touch with a professional building services company who could do the inspection for you.  They will be experts who will know what to look for, identify any problems and give you a quote for the work that needs to be done.

Don’t leave it too late – now is the ideal time for all sorts of outside maintenance work on your home.  If you do leave it until the winter, you might find that the builders are too busy repairing emergency cold-weather damage in your area to fit you in.  Making sure your roof is in a good strong condition is especially important if you have young children – after all, Santa will need to land his sleigh on it at Christmas – what a disaster if he crashed through the roof into your attic and couldn’t complete his rounds!