By Tina Detelj
Click for video: http://wtnh.com/2014/02/17/roof-snow-safety-tips/
MYSTIC, Conn. (WTNH)–After this weekend’s snow more people are seeing snow on their roofs so News 8 wanted to take a look to see what people needed to know to keep their homes safe.
Measure what you have and you can see that we have about seven inches, and when it comes to the flat roofs that’s a lot of weight that it impacts because of the rain and the freezing point overnight.
David Preka says flat roofs are more of a concern than pitched roofs and if drains get clogged weight builds up. This year though he hasn’t seen many problems.
“It has been pretty good. We haven’t had any calls to clear any roofs so far,” said Preka, Advanced Improvements.
Three years ago, a much different story. Crews from Advanced Improvements were on a New London roof and we saw several scenes like a house collapse in Hebron in February 2011.
E2 engineers in New London were also kept busy that winter called daily by homeowners who saw cracks or heard noises they hadn’t noticed before.
“Buildings move throughout the course of their life as snow loads comes on them, comes off of them and that’s quite normal. If you get an excessive amount of snow fall you can start to have excessive deflection in the roof members. This can telegraph down some of your finishes your drywall your ceiling start to cause cracks,” said Chad Vogt, P.E., e2 engineers.
Chad Vogt says each situation is different and if there is any concern, call in a structural engineer who can evaluate if snow needs to be removed or not.
Roof rakes are one way to clear snow but if you have to climb up on a roof or ladder it may be time to call in a professional.
“The rakes they come with an extension so pretty much it’s going to the top and just pull down,” said Preka.
So when you think of safety you don’t just want to think of what’s on the roof coming down, you also want to look on the ground where you have the ladder. With all this ice and snow you need to make sure that is secure.
