Shoveling the roof (Washington: insurance, house, roofing)
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My DH and I have been researching our "forever home" for the past 5 years or so and have decided that NH is where we want to be, specifically the Upper Valley area. He is originally from NY where there is some winter and I have been living in Washington state for longer than I'd care to remember. Winter preparation here consists of making sure your gutters are clean and psyching yourself up to not see the sun for weeks at a time. I lived a few years in Iowa, so I'm not a complete stranger to harsh, winter weather but the comments in this forum that I have seen about raking and shoveling the roof have intrigued me.
I have always thought that the best design for a winter roof is simple, with no valleys, a steep pitch and metal material. A friend who is in the insurance business recently told my DH that metal rooves are not good for extreme climates due to expanding and contracting around seams. Does anyone have some insight on this? My miser ways and fear of heights might create a bit of a conflict on the old roof snow removal process. Also, does anyone have any experience with geothermal or passive solar? We will build eventually and don't want to be giving all of our money to the oil company.
I don't remember roof shoveling ever being an issue in Iowa although we lived in the so-called "Banana Belt".
Thank you in advance for your input. I'm so glad that I found this forum. We have been doing research forever but getting insight from locals is invaluable.
There seems to be a mix of metal roofs and asphalt shingle roofs in NH. more metal roofs the further north you go. I love the look of a nice standing seem metal roof but my cape has asphalt shingles. it has a fairly steep pitch but the dormer on the back does not. they sell long aluminum roof rakes that are useful for doing the edges of the roof to prevent ice dams as well as the large flatter roofs.
Typically it is not a major concern, especially this year. but last year with 3+ feet of snow on the roof and rain forcasted you bet your azz. i shoveled most of the snow off the roof.
If your building, definitely use passive solar, geothermal and a metal roof. especially if your looking at Northern NH.
I think the metal roof where this is concern are the ones where the fasteners are "exposed" and only sealed with gaskets of sorts think old tin roof in the south. The fastener goes through the roofing and if that gasket fails (they do)...it leaks. A raised seam metal roof with hidden fasteners (the fastener clips via the seam) is a completely different animal and what you will see mostly around here...where it's about a foot wide flat piece witha 2" high seam...repeated.
As for "raking the roof", we have a pretty high roofed contemporary and it costs us between $150-$200; and we had it done 3 times last year (we had a lot fo snow). There are 2 reasons to do it 1) to prevent ice dams/give them a chance to melt off...or 2) reduce snow weight on roof after A LOT of heavy snow. We have ice dam concerns (even though we have ice/water shield now...I'm still paranoid)- so we pay to have it done when it looks like it needs it.
Thank you, I thought our friend's comments about the metal roof seemed a bit off. Metal rooves tend to only come on high end homes here so I do not have any personal experience with them. I have heard that in heavy snow load areas such as Montana, people forego the use of gutters to prevent ice dams and snow build up. Is this the case in NH? We are also planning on using SIP panels on the walls and roof for insulation so I am hoping that will help keep the house from heating up the snow from the bottom up.
And one more question....I am originally from NC where we did a lot of backpacking in the mountain chain that we called App-uh-lach-ee-an. In Washington, folks that have never been there correct me and call it, App-a-lay-shun. How does a Yankee say it?
Last edited by lady fern; 12-29-2011 at 09:38 PM..
On the first comment:
1) No gutters do help prevent ice dams...BUT...you better have proper drainage/grading/long enough overhands around the house so the water running off the roof when its raining doesn't seem into the basement or just slosh against the siding.
2) The key to minimizing ice dams is to have a COLD roof (the entire roof), this means good ventilation in the attic and good insulation on the floor of the attic. I've read some bad things about SIP in terms of trapping moisture...just an FYI.
3) Ice/water shield (it's a rubbery membrane that goes under the roofing material) in eaves/valleys/along roof edges) can prevent water from getting into the house if you DO get an ice dam. The key though is not to shovel just the edges of the roof...otherwise the ice dam will simply form wherever the snow stops...
As for the Appalachian mountains...I usually hear "we're going hiking in the Whites" more than anything. But people do say "App-a-lay-shun Mountain Club"...though it's usually shorted to AMC guide or AMC hut, etc... I don't believe that either pronunciation is incorrect- as the actual way to say it "correctly" was lost hundreds of years ago...
And one more question....I am originally from NC where we did a lot of backpacking in the mountain chain that we called App-uh-lach-ee-an. In Washington, folks that have never been there correct me and call it, App-a-lay-shun. How does a Yankee say it?
As a life-long Yankee, I would say "Let's go to the mountains", or "Let's hike __________ Mountain (or Mount ________ ) next weekend. As BF mentions, any mention of the Appalachian Mountains is usually shortened to AMC (club or hut) and people generally know what you are referring to.
Good to know. I guess I will just have to stick with saying AMC. Being a good Southern girl I just can't bring myself to say App-uh-lay-shun. It would be like saying "I don't like grits"!
Thanks for all of the tips, BF66389. I will have to look into the SIPS trapping moisture. They're not cheap so I want to make sure they are right for us.
I have heard that in heavy snow load areas such as Montana, people forego the use of gutters to prevent ice dams and snow build up. Is this the case in NH?
Yep, I remove my gutters in November and put them back in the spring. Takes an hour or so, well worth it. In the right conditions, the snow will rest on the gutter and keep building up on the roof. Its rare on my house, but the first time it happened I started removing them every season. Its free to remove them (my time) and not worth the damage an ice dam can cause.
Metal roofs are amazing, snow slides right off, but having a cold roof is even better.
No need to shovel any roof if it was constructed correctly.
Sadly, many builders/contracters meet minimum codes. Some know zilch about proper roof ventilation.
Many improperly constructed homes have poor ventilation in the roof which results in ice dams. Ice can cause water to enter house uphill from the ice dams. If the roof does develop ice then yes the roof should be shoveled as the roof was never constructed for the weight of the ice which should have never developed in the first place if the roof was constructed correctly.
Metal roofs have come a long way and are the roof of choice for many that have lived in this climate for awhile. A good metal roof is quite costly and costs more then an asphalt shingle roof. If a choice is given and funds are available a metal roof is far superior. Never any need to shovel a metal roof if installed properly. As stated above the older metal roofs had screws and gaskets - and ove time those would leak. New type metal roofs have no exposed screws. Some metal roofs are better then others.
It seems that the further north one goes the more one sees metal roofs.
And as stated above, the more peaks and valleys or dormers and such the more an issue can develop. The simpler the design of the roof the better.
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