Shingling A Roof In Winter

Metal doesn t use these adhesives so winter has no impact on our process.

Shingling a roof in winter.

Every tab should be sealed with one or two dabs roughly 1 inch in diameter of asphalt roofing cement. Let s sort this out by looking at three components that affect the final result. Asphalt shingles can be installed in the winter but extreme care must be taken by roofers installing it not to bend and crack the shingle as well as not to trap moisture under them. Understand the physics of how a sloped shingle roof works.

The suns radiant energy is of significant importance in heating the roof surface to a minimum of forty degrees in the winter. In the winter time a professional roofing contractor may choose to hand seal the shingles with an approved asphalt roofing cement or other adhesive that s provided by the manufacturer. Asphalt roofing shingles simply rely on the force of gravity to shed water from rain or snow melt. The metal roof installation process varies from other materials like shingles.

For shingles projects the adhesives become the biggest concern in lower temperatures. That means roofers must take extra precautions when working on a roof to wear roof fall protection equipment work methodically and carefully and wear high performing gear like winter rated work boots which have been tested for wet cold conditions. Again 40 degrees is not a magic number nor is it concrete it s a safe temperature for installing shingles. This tops anything i have seen in 25 years of roofing duration.

However during winter installations both of these rules are frequently ignored by roofers causing premature roof failures. One of the benefits of installing shingles in the winter in colorado springs is the abundant sunshine. What happens to the asphalt shingles in cold weather asphalt shingles are not designed to waterproof the roof they have the purpose of shedding water away down to the ground. The human factor the tools capacity to perform and the shingle product itself.

First there are human beings that will work on that roof. Asphalt shingles have a seal between them designed to firmly bind and secure the shingles together when exposed to sun and warm temperatures. Intuitively roofing in the winter doesn t seem to be such a good idea right. Cleaning ice after 2 days of freezing rain.

Metal roof installation is fine during the winter. The problem with installing asphalt shingles in the winter is that they get brittle. Installing brittle shingles makes them more susceptible to breaking or cracking during the installation process. Roof surfaces can become slick and slippery thanks to snow ice or frost.

If the roof shingles and all accessory roof components are arranged and overlapped with this in mind the roof should successfully shed water.