Everyone by now knows that the DFW area just recieved record snowfall. What they don't know is that there are some very unique roof problems that will happen this Saturday and Sunday as snow and ice melts.
People will get leaks on perfectly constructed roofs. That can not be right you say? Well it is. First, snow and ice behave very differently than rain. It piles up. It thaws and then refreezes only to thaw again. It gets into siding and flashing in a way that rain never will.
Second, roofs in the South are not constructed for snow and ice. In the North, many additional precautions are taken to prevent water intrusion from melting snow and ice. Primarily, rubber ice and water shield is used in valleys, around, penetrations, dormers, and many other areas. We could easily do the same in the South, but with as little snow fall as we normally receive, the cure on the whole is worse than the illness. Even with roofs not designed for snow and ice, it will be a very small number that have problems.
So what to do if you are one of the unlucky few that do have have a problem? If the leak in question has never been seen before, waiting to see if it will occur again may be your best answer. A rain with no problems later is a good sign that this was a unique problem that may not occur until the next these frosty weather conditions repeat.
