Photos by Laurie Mustard / Winnipeg Free Press
What happens on my roof stays on my roof ... well, except the snow.
There’s a lot of snow building up on Manitoba roofs this winter. Or is it rooves. I mean if it’s hoof and hooves, does the same hold true of roofs and rooves?
Apparently not. I wanted to know, so I looked it up. The jist I got was that rooves is now, as of about 1975-ish, no longer acceptable for common use (although still counts in Scrabble). Roofs is the preferred plural, whereas it can still be hoof and hooves, or hoof and hoofs, either being used pretty much equally.
Forgive my rambling, we can blame it on the high altitude — you know — up on the roof. Now back to snow on roofs.
How much is too much, and why do we not want ice dams forming on any roof, especially our own?
The answer to the first question is... if there is a large buildup of snow on your roof and your roof collapses, that’s too much snow.
But I think we all pretty much knew that. It can be particularly annoying — and hazardous to your health — if it collapses with you under it. A collapse of this magnitude can also be very expensive, although depending on how hazardous it was to your health, you may never know that part.
But I mean, even if the weight causes your roof to sag, that’s not good. Who needs a sag? No one. So that overweight snow needs to come off that roof.
The other very common risk to your roof from excess snow buildup is to have an ice dam form along your eave. That traps water behind it, which can back up through your roofing into your home and cause a lot of damage. It can rain on your parade in January, right in your own living room, and nobody wants, nor can necessarily afford, that.
The absolute best way to determine if you have too much snow on your roof, or if you have an ice-dam problem, is to consult an expert. I am not an expert. Consider today’s column simply an arrow pointing you to an expert(s) easily located wherever you may live by googling or asking around at the coffee shop. You’ll find somebody — although regarding the present snow conditions, you might find there’s a bit of a wait to get work done.
An architect friend of mine, John White, advises: "Typically snow removal may not be necessary and could decrease your roof’s durability. Remove snow only if you have an ice damming problem with ice building up at the eaves." And: "In very rare cases, snow loading can damage a roof structurally," which takes us back to the risk I mentioned earlier of the roof collapsing on you, possibly just when the wine and candles are at the peak of their effect, thereby destroying your romantic plans for the evening, or maybe forever.
There are other reasons for snow removal, which you will learn of by consulting an expert in your area, which, if you have concerns, I very much advise you to do.
What I DO NOT ADVISE YOU TO DO is copy my style of snow removal — something I have done as needed on this roof for the past 30 years or so — and climb up and shovel it off yourself. What happens on my roof, stays on my roof... including me, hopefully.
I undertake this mission for three reasons. Firstly, it’s hard work, excellent for removing the excess fat on my bod from recent overindulgence of Christmas baking. Second, I have a couple of spots on the roof prone to ice damming unless kept clear. Thirdly, I’m a height lover, and I really like the view from up there.
I use a snow scoop pusher with a round edge so as not to damage the shingles, even leaving a skim of snow for added protection.
Do I use a safety rope to keep me from falling? No, I’m an adrenalin junkie and that would take all the fun out of it, besides, there’s nothing to attach it to. I thought of taking my 455-pound cousin, Earl, up there to tie the rope to, but I thought he’d do more damage to the roof than the snow.
Seriously, if you have concerns about the amount of snow on your roof at present, consult an expert, we no doubt have lots more snow to come this winter, to which I say, "rats."
lmustard1948@gmail.com
