Roof Leak Prevention: Here are some tips to help you design your house and roof to prevent leaking and to minimize damage control:
Before you decide on a roof system do some research to determine how well your roof will be able to stand up to weather conditions such as heavy snowfall which can possible cause ice dams to occur, heavy winds, freeze/thaw cycles, and any other potential hazard that may cause damage to your roof.
When designing your house think about the long term effect this build up of snowfall would have on your home. Plan way ahead in the future.
Consider installing steeper roof slopes and shorter rafter lengths as these will be best suited for your roofing design, and you should use a good building design and roof geometry to avoid certain hazardous conditions.
Also consider a good solid roof foundation with the best quality roofing materials. Things such as roof coverings, under-layments and ice and snow controls should be designed as one system, they must all work to the best for each other.
All air/vapor retarders, thermal insulations and ventilation should also be incorporated into one system to minimize the effect of heat loss or snow melts.
There are a variety of materials for roof coverings that you can choose from; here are just two examples of the different types of materials that are available to you.
Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems - offers waterproofing membranes and underlayments which are located at valley, eave and wall diffusion locations and also uses reinforced gutter systems which offer added protection in the event of possible ice dams.
Metal Roof Systems - uses machine-locked seams for short slopes, and they also offer waterproofing membranes and underlayments located at valley, eave and wall diffusion locations.
In the event of moisture invasion in metal roofing systems the moistures flows out of eave instead of flowing into the building. Roof to wall positioning are designed to withstand heavy water.
Rooftops are equipped with exhaust fans etc, to produce the necessary heat required to melt snow in very cold weather conditions. Snow slides which will be able to move very smoothly along the roof.
Snow fences and snow guards are installed in such a way that metal panels will be able to move freely and still stand firm. Vent and flue pipes and roof curbs, are protected from the damaging effects of snow slides.
Uses reinforced guttering to cope with heavy ice loads, also ensures that the front gutter edges are positioned below the projected roof slope where possible snow slides can occur.
