Cold Weather Roof Systems
There are many different types of roof systems in today’s market. However, many of the roofing manufacturers do not discuss the needs for a cold weather roof system versus a hot weather roof system. A hot weather roof system is designed to take massive amounts of heat without the roofing material becoming porous. The roofing material for the hot weather roof system has a thin layer of laminated polymers which prevent the loss of emollients and solvents. On other hand a cold weather roof system has a thicker spray pattern of asphalt into the fiberglass matting which helps hold the ceramic granules in the cold winter months. When the ice builds up on the asphalt shingle, the extra asphalt helps to strengthening the fiberglass matting as well. While many roofing contractors install roof systems very few understand the difference in climate performance.
One of the biggest differences in the two roof systems is the preparation of the valleys, overhang, and the bottom portion of your home. GAF manufacturer sales a material called Weather Watch Barrier Guard System. It is imperative that your roofing contractor installs this material into all the areas listed above. The reason this material has to be installed is that in the wintertime your attic is warm and your overhang is cold. What happens is the hot part of your attic begins to melt the snow on top of your roof and the water begins to run to your gutter system. Prior to reaching the gutter the water encounters the overhang portions of your roof system which is exposed to the cold underneath. The water that was melted from the heat has now reached a cold area and has begun to re-freeze. As this continues to happen over and over again, and ice dam begins to form on the lower portion of your home. what eventually happens is the water that is melting encounters the ice dam and begins to run retrograde back underneath your shingles which causes your roof system to leak. This problem is more common in areas where temperatures stay below 20° and receive a fair amount of snow. The next time you have a new roof installed, consider whether or not you live in a cold or hot climate. The GAF roofing contractor can be a valuable source of information.
Filed under: Business on September 22nd, 2009