Replacing A Roof In Cold Weather

To avoid these issues avoid roofing in temperatures below 40 degrees f.

Replacing a roof in cold weather.

The crew should look out for this and hand seal with roofing cement in a caulking gun if the weather is too cold to activate the bond. Sometimes the seriousness of the roof situation outweighs the risk of doing the job in winter but in most cases it s wise to wait until the temperature is above freezing. The best time to install a new roof is when the weather is warmer than 50 degrees the shingles need heat from the sun to seal. Even if you don t intend to replace your entire roof this winter your roof still may require maintenance.

Fiberglass shingles are some of the most likely shingles to break in cold weather. If the installer does not follow the cold weather instructions few can afford to because it requires you to hand seal each shingle you can have a shingle blow off. However while not ideal roof construction and repair can be done in cold weather as long as weather related precautions are strictly observed. But even if snow and ice haven t accumulated on the roof in need of replacing when the weather grows too cold profoundly affects an installer s ability to use tools and operate equipment.

Standard hot boxes hold product between 100 f and 120 f 38 c and 49 c and optional adjustable thermostatic controllers allow temperatures to be precisely controlled. The adhesive on shingles may also fail to stick in cold weather and may not become fully adhered to the roof until summer. For much of the work in roof replacement dexterity of hands and fingers is essential and heavy winter gloves are not an option. Be very careful about walking over shingles when it s cold since they can easily break under the weight of your foot especially if the shingles are located on an uneven surface or they re slightly curved.

Hot boxes are ideal for cold weather storage freeze protection transporting job site heating remote location use and winter roofing. Additionally cold weather applications require six 6 nails instead of the usual four 4. Applying shingles in cold weather increases the chances of blow offs. Finally the crew leader is responsible for deciding if the roof is tabbing or not and if cold weather precautions hand seal should be taken.