During the busy holiday season and onset of cold winter weather, it’s difficult to think about any tasks other than shopping for gifts, planning for travel and getting your home ready for guests. Home improvement and maintenance is likely the last thing on your mind, unless it’s indoors. However, winter storms and nor’easters are particularly active this time of year. The good news is that the damage that can occur to your home from wind and winter storms is just as preventable as from summer storms, if you’re paying attention to the signs. 

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Wind

Wind doesn’t necessarily increase during the winter, but you may not notice the small changes that lead to bigger damage as you spend more time indoors and less time walking around the exterior of your home. Unless your area is experiencing particularly high winds during a storm, most damage than can occur will begin as a small problem – a loose shingle or piece of siding – that grows into a bigger problem as wind continues to pull against it and uplift the area over time.

Although it may not sound fun, your best option is to check around your home after a day or night of high wind to look for signs of potential damage, or damage that has already occurred.

Ice

When it comes to winter weather, ice is the biggest threat to your home. Not only can it hang from your gutters and create danger in the form of icicles, it can cause real issues for the structure of the house. If ice problems go unnoticed, they will become expensive problems that can be difficult to spot.

One common issue is ice dams, which I have discussed previously. Another similar issue with water freezing can occur with your chimney – specifically the mortar cap. Most homeowners aren’t aware if their mortar cap is cracked or weathered because they aren’t spending time on their roofs themselves. If snow or rain seeps into cracks and freezes, it will expand and worsen the issue, and can even blow the bricks out! At Roofing & More, we always make sure to take a close look at the mortar cap during roofing inspections, though it is not necessarily part of the roofing system.

GET HELP FROM THE PROS

If you have questions about specific winter weather issues at your home, please give Roofing & More a call. Don’t wait for the problem to fix itself – that never happens. Call us at [company_number] or complete our convenient online form to schedule a free in-home estimate. We serve homeowners throughout Alexandria, McLean, Chantilly and many other Northern Virginia communities.