Can You Replace Your Roof During Winter?

Divine Roofing, Inc. knows that as a homeowner, there are a number of things you might consider the last thing you really want to see during winter months. Frozen pipes, a broken furnace, and a leaking roof are perhaps the three largest among them. However, a broken furnace or frozen pipes can be fixed or replaced, regardless of the weather. For many people, the thought of winter means they won’t be able to replace the roof over their head for some time, and that can present a problem if you discover your roof needs serious repairs or even a complete replacement sooner rather than later. Winter is when roof leaks tend to become the biggest problem, allowing water to creep into your home and cause structural damage, drywall damage, and more.

However, what if we told you that it’s perfectly possible to replace your roof during winter months? In the past, waiting may have been a necessity, but modern materials and techniques have changed that and today it’s actually possible to replace a roof nearly year-round. We’ll explain how on this blog.

Material Choices

Warm jackets and working equipment has made it possible for work to happen at frigid temperatures. However, the material you choose for your roof will also affect when or how your roof is replaced. Asphalt shingles, one of the most common and popular roofing materials, must be installed at temperatures higher than about 40 degrees or else they won’t seal properly. When this is the case, our Colorado Springs roofers will have to return on a warmer day.

However, if you’re choosing to install cement, clay, slate, metal, or another form of tile roof, installation can carry on in nearly any temperature without any impact on the project. As long as the temperature doesn’t create a danger for the crew working on your roof or hinder productivity (such as days with high winds), installation will continue.

Recommended Reading: Which Roofing Options are Best for Snow & Ice?

Snow Cover

Another big worry for customers who need a roof replacement during winter is snow coverage. Colorado Springs is no stranger to snowfall, and white-topped roofs are particularly common during the days of December, January, and February. If your roof needs replaced, a light dusting of snow is possible to work around. However, several inches of snow cover is dangerous not only to our roofing crew, but to your roof as a whole. This makes it impossible for our roofers to see what they’re doing or spot any potentially dangerous points on your roof. When this is the case, you’ll need to either wait for the snow to melt, or clear it from your roof manually, but be sure to use caution when doing so.

If you have a solution for preventing ice dams, this may help you melt the snow off your roof faster, but be sure that you remain aware of the fact that snow could slide off your roof at any time.

Another frequent question from customers pertains to what happens if it rains or snows while your roof is getting worked on. We can usually work through very small dustings of snow or light rain, but precipitation of any kind does create a safety risk and could mandate that we need to stop and continue work another day. When the weather calls for rain or snow, we carefully cover any exposed areas of your roof with an industrial-strength cover that’s water-tight. When properly weighted down, this cover should be able to withstand most rain and snowfall, as well as moderate-strength winds.