Advice for Maintaining Your Roof This Winter

By Alec Doniger. 

Mackenzie Beldon talks with AskARoofer™ about how to best protect your roof from harsh winter weather. 

Megan Ellsworth and Lauren White sat down with Mackenzie Beldon of Beldon Roofing to understand what to look for on your roof during the winter months. She is part of the fourth generation at Beldon Roofing and operates out of Texas. As an expert in this industry, she shares her experience and knowledge to help you and your roof weather the winter months better.  

Winter is a time when roofs are exposed to moisture from snow and ice for extended periods of time. In extreme cases, high-speed winds may also affect the strength of your roof. Ideally, your roof is in good enough condition to withstand these harsh conditions. But Mackenzie walks us through the process of having your roof inspected to make sure it’s ready for winter. 

“So some of the things that we would recommend are trimming the trees around your house. This is a good time to take care of your roof line,” Mackenzie shared. “Before going into the winter, you want to inspect and clean your gutters, check your roof flashings, and inspect the edges as well as examine your shingles, so really just understanding the state of your roof before going into the winter season where we are expecting to have snow and ice.” Anti-icing products are also a great way to decrease the amount of time your roof is exposed to moisture, according to Mackenzie. 

Sometimes, though, no matter how much you prepare, your roof can still be damaged. In this case, it’s important to contact your insurance company to see what options are immediately available to you. 

Mackenzie explained that insurance adjusters will “know whether or not your roof was in an area that was impacted significantly, and they can best determine what happens next, whether it's engaging a contractor or meeting with your adjuster first... Usually, when you're working with Beldon, we'll meet with you and with your adjuster at that point.”  

Installing fiberglass insulation and heat strips are some extra measures you can take if you’re concerned that an ice dam will form in your gutters. Lastly, with the holidays approaching, Mackenzie reminds us to never nail anything to a roof. It can be tempting to do this if you want to have the best decorations in your neighborhood, but you’ll pay severely for the damage – more than you’ll win for your neighborhood decoration contest. 

Listen to the full podcast to learn more about protecting your roof this winter. 

Have a question? AskARoofer.  

Find your local roofing contractor in the RoofersCoffeeShop® Contractor Directory.

About Alec 

Alec is a reporter for RoofersCoffeeShop, MetalCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When he isn’t investigating the state of the roofing industry, you might find him playing drums with his bands in Denver.