Roofs strain under snow, ice; contractors buried with calls

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 2/24/15

By KELCY DOLAN

With what seems like a never-ending winter, homeowners and businesses alike are scrambling to clear their roofs before the next storm brings more snow or freezing rain.

With so …

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Roofs strain under snow, ice; contractors buried with calls

Posted

By KELCY DOLAN

With what seems like a never-ending winter, homeowners and businesses alike are scrambling to clear their roofs before the next storm brings more snow or freezing rain.

With so much snow [more than 59 inches this winter], there is a real concern for roof collapse.

Robert Soave, vice president of Weisman Roofing, said, “The biggest problem is the weight factor. Roofs are designed to hold a snow load of probably one to two feet. But we’ve had much more than that. Then when it freezes, it gets heavier, then with rain, it gets even heavier. The strain on roofs is just too much.”

Weisman, a commercial roofing company, has also been taking residential jobs for snow removal but has been “overwhelmed” with calls and is currently working three to four weeks out.

Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who is president of StormTite, similarly reported multiple requests for the removal of snow from roofs.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” he said.

He said he hasn’t been able to respond to all the requests.

The same is true for Weisman Roofing.

“We try and get to the really bad cases,” Soave said, “but other than that it’s going to take time.”

Snow removal can be a vigorous process, taking a lot of time even with the proper tools.

Soave explained that for a 10,000-square-foot roof, with blowers and rakes it could still take “two or more days” to completely clear off the roof.

The city has also been working diligently to keep municipal buildings safe and cleared of snow. Last week, before this past weekend’s snow and rainstorm, Joseph Blake, head of building maintenance for city buildings, gathered a team of six men to clear off the flat roofs of 26 buildings. It took the team Monday to Thursday to get to all the buildings.

He said they found less snow than they had expected, but it was still an arduous task.

“With more snow, we would have no choice but to get back out there and clean them all off again,” Blake said. “We can’t have that damage and we don’t want to see any leaking. The absolute worst case scenario is a roof caving in.”

“The absolute worst case scenario would be a roof caving in, but we went up on the ice rink, which is one of the larger roofs and there was less snow than expected,” he said.

That is what happened to Lowe’s Home Improvement on Quaker Lane early Sunday morning.

A portion of the store’s garden center’s canopy collapsed.

Luckily due to the weather, the garden center had been mostly cleared out and closed so there was little damage to products or the main store.

Steve Salazar, company spokesperson for Lowe’s, said snow had previously been removed from both the roof and canopy, but constant snow and rain were hard to keep up with.

Salazar said, “The canopy is a weaker material than the regular roof. It is translucent product to let natural light shine through and that contributed to the collapse.”

To prevent any more damage to the center or Lowe’s main store, Salazar said there will be increased “vigilance with visual inspections” until the winter weather subsides.

Another concern with roofs is ice dams that block the normal draining system that allows water to leak back into homes.

Soave said ice dams can lead to “a lot of trouble” when the snow begins to thaw and water has nowhere to go.

He explained along with water damage to roofs walls and floors, the leaking can lead to mold and interfere with electrical systems.

Homeowners and businesses are advised to take caution if they attempt to clean roofs themselves. Besides the dangers that come with snow removal, inexperience can lead to causing more harm than good.

“With all the experience and tools we have, snow removal can still be dangerous,” Soave said. “Doing it yourself is really dangerous. You can do more damage than anything. You could shovel off shingles and if that happens, you won’t just have a drip off your roof; you’re going to have a big leak running into your home.”

Blake suggests avoiding clearing off your own roof, but if it is necessary, be extremely careful and never bring a shovel or snow removal device all the way to the base of a roof, but dispose of 90 percent of the snow before gently brushing away the remainder of snow to avoid damage.

Similarly, many people are beginning to use various chemicals for snow removal, or to melt away ice dams.

Blake said, “You have to be really careful when using chemicals for snow removal; it can be a bad idea. If you don’t get good product or you don’t handle it properly, you can severely damage your roof or harm yourself.”

In a press release issued last week, Director of Health Michael Fine, MD, warned Rhode Island of the various health concerns that come with removing snow.

Clearing off roofs comes with the danger of falling from the roof itself, through skylights or off ladders.

He said, “Other snow removal health-related hazards can include hypothermia, heart attack from shoveling or other overexertion, back injury from shoveling, and snow blower injury. I urge all Rhode Islanders to take every precaution possible before attempting to remove snow from roofs, to dress appropriately out of doors, to stay hydrated, and to be careful around snow blowers, and when shoveling snow.”

Tips from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) include avoiding the use of ladders or creating a secured and anchored base, using a snow rake with a long extension to stay safe on the ground.

Signs of potential roof collapse include sagging or leaking roofs, doors and windows that are difficult to open or pop open, persistent creaking or cracking sounds, bending pipes or support beams, cracks in wood, walls or masonry or sprinklers that have lowered past the ceiling.

RIEMA also cautions to avoid electrical wires and avoid times of strong winds and to read all manufacturers’ warning and safety information when dealing with chemical snow removal products.

RIEMA advises those with concerns about a possible roof collapse or cave in, to evacuate the house to safety and call a roofing contractor or building inspector.

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