Cold Weather and Your Commercial Roof
We’ve already seen winter’s biting cold in much of the United States, including temperatures that are downright frigid. Those types of conditions affect a lot more than how people feel indoors and out. Extreme cold can also affect your commercial roof in important ways. Here’s how.
Expansion and contraction
Fluctuating temperatures cause roofing materials to expand and contract. When the temperature drops to an extreme level, contraction of roof components can cause separation and loss of integrity. This is especially true for metal roofing components, like edge details that help terminate and secure the perimeter of the rooftop.
Water Freeze & Thaw
Rooftop snow, ice and water freeze-and-thaw cycles during the winter can make small problems even worse. Tiny openings or cracks in roof membrane and other components can get bigger quickly, allowing more moisture in. In addition to potentially damaging your building’s interior, water can negatively affect insulation. Wet insulation loses its effectiveness, and ineffective insulation means higher heating bills.
Installation Challenges
Clearly, it’s easier to install roofs in warmer weather. However, most commercial roofing systems can be installed year-round, other than in extremely cold conditions. When a company installs a roof during the winter, there are some issues that need to be worked around. For example, commercial roof membranes can be stiff and harder to lay out. And it can be challenging to weld sections together, because the ambient temperature isn’t within the ideal welding temperature window for that roofing material. Also, colder workers may be less attentive to installation details and the roof installation might become more labor-intensive. If you need a wintertime installation, make sure that the contractor has cold-weather installation experience and that the membrane can be effectively installed at that time.
Knowledge is power, and it is possible to be prepared for whatever winter brings by being aware of the potential challenges. Partnering with a qualified commercial roofer like Royalty can provide peace of mind in knowing that the roof will weather winter’s extremes just fine.