Why Winter is the WORST time to Replace your Roof
There are lots of great things you can do during a Midwest winter: go ice skating at Crown Center, grab your kids and go sledding down your town’s biggest hills, check out the great home and garden, boat and auto shows that come through KC each winter. There’s also something you shouldn’t do during a Midwest winter: replace your roof. At RSG, we want our customers to have the best possible roofing experience from a company that has their best interests at heart. This is why we will not put roofs on homes during the brutal KC winters. Want to know the specifics? Read on.
People
At RSG, we put people first. That means a commitment to our customers and our roofers. The safety of our crew is important, and having an appropriate work surface is vital to proper shingle installation. We need to reach the bare deck of the roof. Starting the day shoveling know and chipping away at ice isn’t optimal, and it can be unsafe. The unpredictable nature of KC winter weather can mean that a completely dry, sunny day can easily turn into a sleet or ice downpour, adding to the level of hazard and reducing the speed and safety of our crew. Frigid temperatures and windy conditions also mean that our roofers have to wear more layers, decreasing speed and accuracy. Because our team needs to be able to use their fingers precisely and use their toes to balance and grip, heavy layers are not appropriate.
Materials
Shingles don’t adhere as well in cold weather, for a variety of reasons. The asphalt in shingles becomes less flexible in lower temperatures. When it’s harder to bend shingles, they can’t be cut straight. Because they are brittle, they are likely to be overdriven by pressurized nail guns. Cold weather also increases the chances that the self-sealant strip on the back of the shingle, which is activated by the sun’s heat, won’t activate. This can keep the shingles from binding together, and a strong winter wind can easily catch them and blow them off.
Tools
Also, the tools we use to shingle a roof can be affected by temperature. Our compressors and air guns have humidity in them. In lower temperatures, the moisture can freeze and reduce airflow. It’s very important that the nail pressure used to attach the shingle is not under-driven or over-driven, and if the pressure of the tool isn’t optimal, there is a risk that the shingles will not be applied properly.
Of course there are always outlying emergencies where a roof must be applied in frigid conditions. Sometimes the seriousness of the roofing situation is bad enough that the roof can’t wait, and there are additional steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk of poor shingle application. However, at RSG Construction, we are dedicated to providing our customers with the best experience and outcome possible, and because of our commitment to you, we choose not to replace roofs in the winter months.
Are you thinking about replacing your roof? Call us today for a free Go-Pro roof inspection, and if needed we can plan your roof replacement for the warmer months of spring. Give RSG a call today at 816-866-4235 or just click HERE to schedule your complimentary consultation.
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