Could You?
Many Minnesota homeowners find themselves in need of a roof replacement during the winter months. But homeowners often question whether or not they can have a new roof installed in cold, potentially snowy winter weather. Depending on the air temperature at the point of the actual shingle installation, it is possible to have your roof replaced with the shingle warranty intact during the winter months.
Shingle manufacturers have detailed requirements concerning the temperature (usually 40 degrees Fahrenheit) at which their materials can be installed with the warranty intact without requiring the application of multiple dabs of roofing cement to each shingle, a task that is extremely time-consuming and cost-prohibitive. There are several practical reasons for these requirements. One reason is that new shingles need to undergo thermal sealing, which can take several days of temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Another reason is that today’s fiberglass shingles, while in cold weather, can crack during the nailing process as well as during the unloading and handling process, compromising the quality and longevity of the shingles. Nails that are driven by high pressure air tend to crack the base of the shingles and any bending of the shingles can cause similar damage to the fiberglass base. Finally, shingle installation requires plenty of detailed cutting on various edges, in valleys and around vents and pipes. The quality of these cuts is severely compromised in extremely cold weather as the shingles are stiff and very brittle.
Should You?
At Above All Roofing of Rochester, Inc., we do not believe it is wise to replace your roof during the winter months here in Minnesota. As stated above, shingles typically need several days of exposure to 40 degree or warmer weather in order to achieve a proper thermal seal. Even if you are roofing on a 40 degree day, how are you to be certain that the next several days will stay that warm? These warmer days may not come soon enough for your newly installed roof. Wind-blown dust can get between the rows of your shingles, creating a barrier between the shingle’s sealant and the shingle that it is supposed to seal to. When this occurs, the shingles may never seal to each other, regardless of future temperatures. As stated above, there is a method of installation that mostly eliminates this risk. Adding multiple dabs of roofing cement to each shingle, however, this is not a practical method. The average roof has somewhere between one thousand and two thousand shingles. Hand-sealing is very time-consuming and therefore, expensive. Another option is to keep the shingles in a warm, location until immediately before they are installed. But this option does not account for several days of 40 degree or warmer weather that is needed to achieve a proper thermal seal and is also time-consuming and cost-prohibitive option. So, even if you are fortunate enough to schedule your roof replacement for a rare 40 degree or warmer winter day in Minnesota, we recommend waiting until spring for a reasonably priced and high quality roof installation.