Flat Roof and Roof Restoration Experts - Serving Colorado and Beyond

With such a wet summer in the Colorado area, it seems a high likelihood of an equally wet winter. In fact, the Farmers' Almanac seemed to indicate not only a very wet (snowy) winter, but also a "numbing" cold winter. Aside from the difficulties of keeping yourself safe and warm, if you own a building - your home or office - the problem gets worse. Winter can be very hard on a roof, especially one that is already showing signs of wear and tear. But what is it about the winter that can be so tough on your roof. Icicles Hanging From the Edge of the Roof

Icicles Hanging From the Edge of the Roof

In this article, let's discuss two of the culprits: Cold and Ice. First of all, the cold is tough on your roof when it is combined with warmth. Even in the Colorado winter, it is not uncommon for the daytime high temperatures to reach 50 degrees (or more) and then at night the temperature dips to freezing (or lower). This fluctuation in temperature is called thermal shock - called "shock" for good reason. When the temperature gets warmer the building's structure, including the roof, begins to expand. Then when the temperature gets colder, the building's structure begins to contract. The more extreme the temperature fluctuation is, the greater this expansion and contraction.

Look at your roof like a rubber band. Take a rubber band and hold it out in front of you - one side in your left hand and one side in your right hand. Now begin to stretch that rubber band close to what you think the breaking point is and then let it go slack again. Keep doing that several times and you'll notice something important. What you may first notice is that the rubber band begins to loose its tensile strength, taking less effort to pull it to its breaking point. The second thing you

might have noticed if you stretched and loosened the rubber band enough times is complete failure - the rubber band breaks. Now a rubber band is designed to address these types of extremes, but will still fail if stretched enough times. A roof is not necessarily designed for such extremes.

Also, as an older rubber band will fail much more quickly, so goes an old and deteriorating roof. The failure can happen exponentially sooner than that of a new roof. Temperature, or specifically temperature fluctuations in this case, work your roof like a rubber band. The more the temperature fluctuation, the more that rubber band (your roof) must stretch to accommodate. This will weaken the structural integrity of your roof. (In fact, as you may have guessed, this thermal shock can also happen in the height of summer, where the daytime high temperature is 90 degrees and the evening low temperature is in the 50's. That's still a 40 degree temperature fluctuation, which is not good for your roof.)

Every day, every night; day after day; season after season; year after year. The toll on your roof is significant. Expansion joints crack and separate, seams tear loose, roofing materials break down and deteriorate, and on and on. The end result is a failing roof.

The second item that was mentioned was that of ICE. Of course, this is more specific to wintertime conditions. It is also one of the most destructive elements that your roof will be likely to encounter. Why? When it snows on your roof often times the first layer of snow melts as it comes into contact with the relative warmth of the building. That "liquid snow" gets into your roof’s cracks and crevices. Then as the snow continues to fall, the wet, watery snow underneath begins to freeze. When it freezes, that moisture within those cracks and crevices expands. This expansion makes any defects in the roof worse.

Now what happens when you get a warm day and a bulk - if not all - of the rooftop snow begins to melt? The process is started over. Because now the melting snow also seeks out and finds additional cracks and crevices. Then when the temperatures drop again during the night, that water freezes and expands again. Similar to thermal shock, this constant freezing and thawing of snow exacerbates any defects in the roof. The older and more damaged your roof, the more profound the freeze-thaw-freeze effect will have.

So your roof will encounter thermal shock as well as the expansion and contraction related to freezing & thawing snow. It is unavoidable in the Colorado climate. So what can you do to reduce the negative effects of these destructive processes? One thing you can do is to start out with a white, highly-reflective roof. This will reduce the thermal shock to more reasonable levels. Another thing is to make sure that there is adequate drainage on your roof so that any rain or snowmelt is able to get off of your roof before it is able to freeze (or refreeze as the case may be).

Ultimately every roof is different and exists in a unique local environment. All of this makes it impossible to put the same "fix" to every roof. Every roof is different. Therefore, the best way to know your roof’s specific needs is to have your roof evaluated by one of our qualified inspectors. We offer free rooftop evaluations and can provide you with specific and significant insight into the needs of your particular roof. Call today at 970-593-1100 to schedule for your free rooftop evaluation.

Hail Is a 4-Letter Word

Another one of those pesky Colorado weather elements that can be very destructive is hail. The type of roof you have - as well as the material components directly under your roof - can have a lot to do with whether or not your roof suffers damage during a hail storm. But if you've lived in Colorado for any length of time, you no doubt realize that no roof is completely safe from hail. This is precisely why most roofing systems exclude hail damage from their warranties. Also, those roofing manufacturer's that do provide hail coverage usually do at an additional cost. And that Hail In Hand

additional cost is in "addition" to the enhanced installation requirements that drive up the cost of the roofing system in the first place. So one way or another, we all pay for hail. That's why we think it’s a 4-letter word.

So what determines whether or not your roof will be damaged by hail? Of course, the size of the hail is a huge determining factor - one that can't be controlled. The larger the hail, the more impact it has when it hits your roof. It can also determine the velocity of the impact because larger pieces of hail are less reactive to the wind and thus they can hit your roof more directly; whereas lighter hail can be blown about by the wind upon its descent, which may allow it to hit your roof at an angle. But there is another related and contributing factor: the slope of your roof.

A sloped roof; i.e., a shingle roof, will handle hail more effectively. Imagine a piece of hail failing from the sky and hitting a roof that is sloped at a 45-degree angle. The impact is minimized because the hail is not hitting the roof full-on and therefore, the energy of the impact is much more of a glancing impact. To help understand this, consider a flat roof. That same piece of hail falling from the sky will it the flat roof dead-on, exactly perpendicular to the roof's surface. All of the energy of that piece of hail must be absorbed by the roof. So in addition to the size of the hail, the angle of your roof's slope can lessen or worsen the impact of the hail.

Now you may not be able to do anything about the size of the hail or the angle of your roof. But there are some things you can do to help minimize the damage that hail can cause. Dealing primarily with flat, low-sloped roofs, using a quality roofing membrane is important. Some may say "the thicker the membrane the better.” While it can help, it is not always true for various reasons and therefore, should not be the sole determining factor. For example, a thin piece of steel can be significantly stronger than a thick piece of glass. Quality of the product is very important.

Also important is what is directly underneath the roofing membrane. A soft fiberboard can actually cause the hail to penetrate the membrane because of the "give" in the material underneath. On the other hand, a hard cover board; i.e., Dens Deck or even a high-density polyisocyanurate insulation board, will not allow the same type of give. In the latter case, the hail will be more apt to bounce up off of the roof without penetrating the membrane. This is due specifically to that harder material underneath.

Of course, if your roof has already been affected by hail, what do you do then? Is all lost? Not necessarily. In fact, a roof restoration can usually be done if action is taken quickly. To find out more about roof restorations and whether or not your roof would qualify, please visit our roof restoration page.

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September Newsletter Articles

Winter and Your Roof

Hail Is a 4-Letter Word