How Snow and Ice Affect Your Roof
While snow may not grow in Australia's warm climate, some areas including the New South Wales Blue Mountains and Tasmania's Central Highlands are seeing winter snow at times.
If you live in an area known for frequent snow, you need to know how ice and snow can affect your roof—some important things to consider when building a new home, expanding or reroofing.
ice dam
In colder conditions, ice dams can become a common problem. Ice dams are formed when warm air from living spaces rises and melts snow on the roof, then water runs off the roof and refreezes around the edges, potentially forming sharp and dangerous ice blocks that can break away.
In addition, they create structural problems. Ice buildup can damage gutters due to its excess weight and cause water to seep from roofs and walls. If left unchecked, this could cause the roof to collapse. However, houses built in snowy regions often have roofs with gutter guards designed to deal with ice dams.
How does your roof hold up against snow, ice and water?
Gutter Guard
A large number of gutter design options exist to prevent ice dams. There are gutter guards that keep debris from clogging the gutters and heating elements that keep the gutters warm causing snow to melt and run off of them instantly.
roof pitch
Architects who build for snowy regions also tend to incorporate the risk of snow accumulation into their designs. As a result, many homes in snowy areas have steeply pitched roofs to ensure that excess snow has little room to stress the actual frame or building structure of the home.
roof tiles
When building in snowy regions, the design of the roof is critical to its durability and should be a key consideration. One of the most popular options is a roof made of roof tiles.
Roof tiles must adhere to strict compliance standards – every batch has to be tried and tested. Roof tiles are also energy efficient due to their thermal density, providing an effective means of insulation, regulating internal temperatures, keeping your home warm in winter and reducing the chance of snow buildup on the roof, also known as condensation.
Sarkin
Roof tiles also come with a lining option. Sarking provides further insulation. Sarking is using extra material placed under the roof tiles that acts like a second skin for insulation purposes. Sarking also protects your roof cavity from rain and leaks to prevent it from being damaged.
maintenance tips
If you live in a multi-story home, leave any maintenance to the professionals.
Remember to check and clean gutters during the cooler months to prevent ice dams from forming.
