Frigid winter weather can be hard on everything from your car to your plumbing, and commercial buildings aren’t exempt from this yearly problem. If you’re a business owner, you likely already dread wintertime because snow and ice quickly pile up on your property — especially on your roof. To properly protect your commercial roofing in Middletown, Delaware against this seasonal scourge, it’s essential to remove snow and ice ASAP. Read on to find just a few of the unpleasant ways that wintry weather can impact your commercial roof.
Mold & Mildew
A light coating of snow might not seem like a big deal for your commercial property — after all, you’ve likely seen more severe snowstorms. However, even a small amount of melted snow can cause significant problems, especially if your roof is on the older side or wasn’t installed correctly. The water from the snow melt seeps into the roofing materials, causing water damage over time. If the water penetrates deeply enough, you can have a severe mold problem.
Drainage Problems
On especially cold days, commercial roofing in Middletown, Delaware, can be vulnerable to a dangerous phenomenon called ice damming, which happens when a ridge of ice develops along a roof, preventing drainage. Well-installed flat roofs can prevent ice dams from forming, but not all commercial buildings have flat roofing systems, which is why this issue is worth looking out for during inspections.
Your roofing materials aren’t the only thing that can be damaged by winter weather. Snow and ice impact your gutters, too, since ice can clog up or freeze these important drainage points. Even as the build-up on the roof melts away, the ice further away from the sun takes a long time to melt, which can cause long-term clogging issues.
Cracking & Splitting
Have you ever heard of the freeze-and-thaw cycle? When water freezes into ice, it expands, causing roofing materials to expand. Then, when the ice warms up and melts, the roof contracts again since water takes up less molecular space than ice. A well-built commercial roof will have the flexibility to withstand this cycle throughout the winter, but rapid freezing and thawing can harm even the most durable roofs. This catastrophic cycle can create cracks in your roofing system and ruin roof materials in other ways. If you notice that your roof seems to be cracking or splitting, contact professionals for roof repair ASAP before the winter weather causes even more severe problems.
Serious Structural Damage
Heavy snowfall is a headache for any business owner trying to keep their parking lots clear. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there, since this problematic precipitation can also threaten the structural integrity of your roof, too. Did you know that snow can weigh as much as 20 lbs per cubic foot? Because it’s so heavy, snow creates excess weight on roofing systems of all kinds, and large commercial roofs often have plenty of real estates where snow can pile up. To avoid roof damage, remove snow ASAP with a snowblower or another safe method as soon as you can.
Got Snow Woes? Call Our Roofing Repair Team!
This year, keep an eye out for these and other danger signs of winter roof problems. If your commercial roofing has been damaged by winter weather, it’s essential to take action quickly. Contact Lane Roofing for prompt and affordable commercial roofing service. We’re always happy to help you make your business better!