The trees and shrubs around the Twin Cities are certainly showing off all their glorious fall color right now, aren’t they? Could the air feel any crisper? Could that warm beverage taste any more satisfying? There truly is something splendid about this time of year.
While we don’t want to rush a single fall day away, we do want to help you as a homeowner think ahead to what's coming... winter. Here are six simple ways to brace yourself and your home for winter.
It's winter in Minnesota, which means that just about anything can happen in terms of the weather. Temperatures can drop to rival the North Pole, unexpected warm days will tempt us to believe spring is on its way, or we'll be buried in lots and lots of snow. So far we've had a bit of all three, but who knows what the next few months could bring!
Just in case the snow starts to fly again, here's what you need to know about caring for your roof during the winter months.
Take a look at the ice build up on your roof. How thick is it getting? When it starts to get over four inches thick, you could start to have problems.
The weather these past few Minnesota winters have lent themselves nicely to creating ice dams on homes and commercial buildings alike. All the melting, freezing, melting, re-freezing can really do a number on your roof’s shingles if your house’s insulation is poor.
When there’s a layer of snow sitting on your roof an ice dam is formed when the attic warms up enough to melt the first layer of snow on your roof.
Drip by drip, the water will trickle down between the layer of snow and shingles until it hits the end of your roof. The edge of your roof stays cold because it extends beyond the attic—thus isn’t being warmed from underneath. There you have the gradual forming of nice mound of ice we call an ice dam...
