Ten Lakes Roofing

Why roofs fail

Nearly everything that goes wrong here happens at the edge of the roof, in the cold, between December and March.

A roof almost never quits in the middle. It quits at the transitions. December to March decides which of these matters.
Garage Point 1: ridge caps 1 Ridge caps: fatigued by the annual swing Point 2: the field of the roof 2 The field: snow load and age Point 3: valleys 3 in the valleys Point 4: flashing 4 a lower roof meets a wall Point 5: vent boot 5 Vent boot Point 6: eaves and ice dams 6 Eaves: ice builds where attic heat escapes
  1. 1 Ridge caps. Fatigued by an annual swing few other climates ask of a roof.
  2. 2 The field. Snow load and age together, not one or the other.
  3. 3 Valleys. Meltwater runs under the snowpack here, out of sight.
  4. 4 Flashing. The chimney, and where a lower roof meets a wall.
  5. 5 The vent boot. Cold makes the rubber brittle, then a thaw opens the crack.
  6. 6 Eaves and ice dams. Ice builds at the edge wherever attic heat is escaping.

The six

Winter does most of the damage

Sixty degrees of annual range that works every nail and sealant strip loose. Escaping attic heat that melts the snowpack from below and rebuilds it as ice at the eaves. A season of snow that only leaves by melting, through valleys that autumn left full. And flashing that outlives its sealant at every wall junction. December to March settles the rest of it.

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