What is the safest, warmest place during a storm? Indoors, of course, in the comfort and safety of your own home. But what would be the worst place? On your roof, probably. It’s draughty up there. It’s wet. It’s cold. It’s also potentially dangerous, which is why no one should attempt roof repairs themselves. It is a job for a skilled professional roofer in Central Scotland. Those people know exactly how rain, wind and snow affect your roof, because they spend their working lives fixing the problems.
It’s an unholy trinity: rain, wind and snow. In the winter in Scotland, if it’s not one of them it’s another, and it’s not unknown to experience all three in a matter of hours. They attack your roof in different ways.
Rain is usually thought of as the main problem. Water has this way of getting everywhere, and when aided and abetted by wind, it can worm its way under tiles and slates, into cracks and splits in waterproofing materials and on its merry way into your home.
As for the wind on its own, it has the ability not just to break things but to throw them around, causing more damage. It can make a branch come off a tree and hurl it onto your pristine roof, cracking and dislodging the beautiful components of your chosen surface, and it doesn’t just look bad, it causes problems. It lets water in, it lets the cold in and if there are insects and even vermin hanging around, looking for a nice warm human space to take up residence in, wind damage can give them the keys to your palace.
Snow has a place in our affections that is not always justified. Yes, it can look neat and beautiful at first, but life is not a continuation of a white, wintry scene complete with gorgeous robins. Once snow starts to melt, it quickly loses its charm, turning into dirty water on the roof just as it becomes slush in the street. On a roof, though, it can refreeze and cause ice dams – build-ups of frozen water that can cause trouble when they melt again. To combat this, roof health involves keeping your gutters clean and clear, so they and the downpipes can whisk the wet stuff away as they were intended to do.
Tips for Weatherproofing your Roof
Tip number one: find yourself a good roofing company. You need a professional outfit, preferably local and ideally found through word of mouth, because the recommendation of someone you know and trust is your best guarantee of a trustworthy company that will do a good job.
Tip number two: let them do what is necessary. If they are genuinely convinced you need major work on your roof, examine the evidence and plan it into your budget. You may only need a slate here and there, but if there is a structural issue that could, for instance, mean the roof couldn’t take the weight of a big fall of snow, you may have to grin and bear the cost. Your roof is in many ways the guardian of the whole building, so it pays to have it repaired properly.
What about the waterproof felt underneath the tiles? What about the flashing that keeps water out of the corners and joints? What about the “telescopics”, the overlapping pieces on the sloping ridges where two parts of the roof come together?
Weatherproofing is not just waterproofing: it’s keeping you covered against the wind and the snow – and the sleet and the freezing rain and whatever the elements can throw at you. You need a solid roof, one that can stand up to a bit of a battering.
With the reassurance of a good, resilient barrier overhead, you can weather the storm. What do you care how much it may storm? You’ve got your roof to keep you warm.
