Any homeowner knows that the winter season can leave your house vulnerable to many problems due to the frigid temperatures and heavy snow and ice. One of the best ways to be prepared and protect your home is by understanding what areas are most at risk of snow-related damage.
Here are five areas of your home’s exterior that can suffer from snow damage:
Roof
Snow accumulation on a roof can cause serious and costly damage. The weight of any sitting snow could, in a worst-case scenario, lead to a collapse or cave-in. Other likely issues that snow can cause for your roof are damaged shingles, leaks opening up, and ice dams that form off the sides of the roof from snow melting and then refreezing. Make sure to have your roof inspected for any vulnerabilities and potential issues before winter.
Gutters
When heavy ice dams form off the edges of your roofing system, they can cause non sturdy or old gutters to crack and break apart, leaving you with a serious drainage issue. Clogged gutters that weren’t thoroughly cleaned before winter can contribute to ice and snow buildup that creates ice dams and leads to damage.
Pipes
When temperatures fall below freezing, especially after a snowfall, your home’s external pipes become vulnerable to freezing and bursting. Thankfully, this is easily preventable – before winter or a snowstorm, just shut off your water that leads to outdoor pipes, make sure all the water is drained out, then remove any attached hoses and store them safely away until spring returns. For any exterior pipes you can’t simply shut off, take extra precautions to protect them, such as wrapping them with thick insulation.
Landscaping
When a snowstorm is on its way, it’s normal to have trucks come past your house dropping salt to prevent ice formation – as a homeowner, you may do this yourself to avoid slippery driveways and walkways. However, salt runoff from melting snow can leave your grass and plants significantly damaged and vulnerable to death when it gets absorbed in the soil.
Driveways and Walkways
Repeated snowstorms can cause serious complications for your property’s driveways and concrete pathways. Like on roads and highways, melting snow and ice will seep into any cracks in the pavement and then refreeze when the temperatures drop; this causes cracks to expand and get bigger and bigger. This is why it’s essential to have any gaps in your driveways and walkways filled before winter arrives.
Contact Landmark Exteriors for siding or roofing inspections, repairs, and installations!
The experts at Landmark Exteriors are here to help ensure your home’s roofing system and siding looks great and functions properly for years to come! Give us a call at (203) 838-3838 or visit our website to learn more.