The Benefits and Risks of Winter Roof Replacement in New Bern, NC

December 28, 2017 11:35 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The busy season of the year for roofers always lasts from late spring to early fall in climates where the winter months bring sustained periods of cold. While most people prefer to get their roofing done when the weather is at least somewhat nice, there are some occasions in which it is either advantageous or necessary to do it during the winter.

Here are three factors that you should consider when deciding if you will seek winter roof replacement in New Bern, NC.

The people working on the roof

You should always keep in mind that there are actual human beings who will be doing your roofing. If the weather is particularly cold or bad, roofers will lose morale. When workers lose morale, they are more likely to cut corners. This is the human element you have to consider when asking people to do your roofing in the winter. Is it too much to ask other people to go out into the winter weather to get the job done? The last thing you want is to put a ton of money into a roofing project that isn’t done up to the company’s standards because workers were so uncomfortable they found it necessary to cut corners.

That’s not even to mention the lack of precision that can come from numb fingers, or from having to perform the job while wearing an extra 15 pounds of winter gear. If the weather is below freezing, you might be better off waiting until the spring unless you have a roofing emergency that cannot wait.

The types of tools being used on the job

Roofing crews use a wide variety of tools, some of which are not affected by the air temperature, others of which are. Compressors and nail guns, for example, might not be effective in sub-freezing temperatures. This is because when air compresses and releases in the system, the resulting humidity will eventually turn into water. If that water freezes inside the airlines, it will, at the very least, make it difficult to nail in shingles correctly, and could potentially damage the tool.

A compressor that is not functioning properly due to cold air will slow down the job, forcing workers to be up high during uncomfortable temperatures even longer to get your job done.

Ability to install shingles during cold weather

Shingles can be installed during cold weather, but you must take some extra precautions when doing so. Shingles are designed to be flexible, but the asphalt material could become more brittle during the cold weather. As such, it becomes more likely that nails will be overdriven, and they will be harder to bend and cut. So long as the crew takes the extra time needed to work around the altered properties of the shingles, this shouldn’t necessarily be a problem. But again, this requires crews to work longer to get the job done while the weather is quite uncomfortable.

For more information about the considerations that go with winter roofing, contact us and we’ll be happy to answer your questions about roof replacement in New Bern, NC.

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