As we welcome the new year, we’re walking back into the heart of an Iowa winter. Iowa weather is always unpredictable, and wintertime is no exception. We’ve already learned new weather terms this winter season (what’s a snow squall?) and have been faced with the inconvenience of driving in poor road conditions. Beyond the obvious power outages and dangerous driving, though, winter weather can also negatively impact your commercial flat roof. As a business owner, it’s crucial to have a strong roof to protect your employees, clients, products, equipment, and other valuable assets. It’s important to know how this weather affects your roof and what warning signs to keep in mind throughout the winter season.
Winter Conditions That Impact Your Roof
Heavy Snow
If you’ve ever shoveled snow, you know that snow buildup can get heavy quickly. Flat roofs are a prime area for snow to land and build up, even creating drifts on top of your building. While quality flat roofs are designed to be durable, heavy snow or snow drifts can put a dangerous amount of weight and stress on your roof. This weight can damage the structural integrity of your roof, which may lead to leaks or bowing.
While typical snowfall isn’t harmful in itself, your roof should be cleared regularly to prevent mounds and drifts from forming. It’s also important to check your roof after blizzards and other severe weather conditions and remove snow as soon as possible.
Ice Dams
Roofs with any sort of slope can fall prey to ice dams. These can form when the attic in your commercial building is above freezing temperature, which would melt the ice or snow on your roof. If your roof has a slope, this water could run off and hit a cold spot where it refreezes. Runoff continuously stopping and freezing at this point could create a ridge of ice, also called an ice dam. Consequently, this could create leaks through your roof and damage to your building. It’s important to make sure your roof is properly insulated to prevent potential ice dams from forming.
Cycle of Freezing and Thawing
Winter in Iowa can vary greatly — it might feel like spring one day until it drops 30 degrees overnight. This cycle of freezing and thawing can be damaging to your roof as water melts then freezes again, seeping into crevices of your roof then expanding and damaging it. While you can’t stop this water cycle, you can make sure the seals and flashing on your roof are in good shape during an annual fall maintenance inspection before winter starts.
Strong Winds
Flat roofs don’t have shingles that are the typical association with wind damage, but it’s common for a commercial flat roof to have elements such as HVAC units mounted on top of the building. Without proper flashing around these units, they could be damaged by strong winds, subsequently damaging your roof. It’s crucial to hire an experienced expert when installing the HVAC unit, then the flashing around it along with any other features on top of your roof should be inspected regularly, especially before wintertime, to prevent damage.
Condensation
It’s essential to have proper ventilation to prevent condensation from damaging your roof. The condensation forms when the warm air from the attic meets a cold surface (your roof), but it’s not an issue with proper ventilation. Without ventilation, it could cause water to pool and create leaks or problems such as ice dams. Along with checking the seals on your roof before wintertime, make sure you have a proper ventilation system in place to avoid this issue.
Signs That Your Roof Needs Attention
Evidence of Leaks or Cracks in the Ceiling
If you notice any new leaks, cracks, or discolored spots on your ceiling, that’s a clear indication that your roof is damaged and needs to be repaired.
Roof, Wall, or Beam Bowing
Another clear indication that something is wrong with your roof is if any part of your building is bowing — especially walls, beams, or your roof itself. In this case, there’s probably too much weight on your roof either from built-up ice or packed snow.
It’s Difficult to Open Doors
Even if you don’t see visible bowing, you could still have issues with your roof if you’re having difficulties opening doors. Similar to bowing, this also indicates too much weight on your roof.
Extreme Icicles
When you have extreme icicles, that’s a sign that you more than likely also have ice dams. Ice dams form because these icicles along your gutters can block water from properly draining, thus creating a buildup of ice on your roof.
Call the Midwest Commercial Flat Roof Experts
Whether you’re aiming to be proactive with an inspection or maintenance, you’ve been noticing issues, or you need a new roof, The Duerson Corporation is your expert in the Midwest. We’ve been installing, maintaining, and repairing roofs since 1986. We’re a family-run business that puts our customers first. Our company is fully licensed and insured, with 15- and 20-year warranties on our Duro-Last roofs. You can confidently choose Duerson knowing we’ll provide quality service and products through an ongoing relationship. If you need a commercial roofing contractor you can trust, contact us. Our roofing professionals would be happy to give you a free roof inspection and estimate.