New Roof During Winter

Having a new roof installed in the winter can be done.

New roof during winter.

If you do need a roof replacement in the winter it s always good to ask. In an ideal world asphalt roof shingles should be installed between 40 degrees and 85 degrees fahrenheit. This is especially true on the north side of roofs where the sun doesn t hit the roof as strongly. Contractors are typically hesitant to install new roofs during the winter for three reasons.

To avoid this issue a roofer can keep most bundles of shingles in a warm dry place and only pull out a few bundles at a time. 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. 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 temperature needs to be taken into consideration because at extremely cold temperatures asphalt shingles can become brittle and break.

A new roof in the winter involves some additional challenges. This is one of the biggest problems when you install asphalt shingles when it s under 40 degrees. Weather adhesives and tools all of which are intertwined with one another. Even high quality asphalt shingles can crack when hammered and installing in the wrong temperature can promote breakage.

The temperature has a lot to do with the successful installation of a roof. Winter roofing is complicated. Although tools and materials do have sub optimal performance the right crew can do it in weather that is above freezing and not snowing or raining. If you had your roof installed during the fall winter or even in the past month or two it may not have heated up enough to properly seal the seal down strips.