What Happens if it Rains During Roof Repairs?
Roof repair when it's raining is not ideal as moisture can get between plies on the flat roof. Perfect roofing weather is when the temperature ranges from 15 – 20 degrees with no chance of rain. To learn more about this, visit our website.
Roof repair when it's raining is not ideal as moisture can get between plies on the flat roof. Perfect roofing weather is when the temperature ranges from 15 – 20 degrees with no chance of rain. To learn more about this, visit our website.
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<strong>What</strong> <strong>Happens</strong> <strong>if</strong> <strong>it</strong> <strong>Rains</strong> <strong>During</strong> <strong>Roof</strong> <strong>Repairs</strong>?<br />
As roofers, we don’t work during the rain except when doing emergency repairs (because when<br />
water is coming in during a rainstorm, you want the leaking to stop yesterday). Perfect roofing<br />
weather is between 15-20 degrees w<strong>it</strong>h no chance of rain. If <strong>it</strong> does rain, moisture can get<br />
between plies on a flat roof or between the felt and the shingles and shorten your roof’s<br />
l<strong>if</strong>espan.<br />
We Always Keep an Eye on the Weather<br />
To ensure that we don’t get caught in the rain, we keep a very close watch on the weather. If <strong>it</strong><br />
looks like there’s going to be rain, we contact our clients to let them know that <strong>it</strong>’s possible we<br />
might have to postpone. But <strong>if</strong> <strong>it</strong>’s overcast w<strong>it</strong>h a low chance of rain, we’re good to go.<br />
Here’s <strong>What</strong> we do W<strong>it</strong>h Flat <strong>Roof</strong>s <strong>if</strong> <strong>it</strong>’s Threatening Rain,<br />
When we replace a flat roof, first we have to rip off the old one. We take spades and basically<br />
dig up the roof. The old roofing material is removed and put into the waste bin. Rarely we will<br />
scrape the roof down and use an asphalt primer to rev<strong>it</strong>alize the roof. Then we put a new<br />
membrane overtop.<br />
<strong>During</strong> all this, we need good weather. You never want to rip up a roof in the rain. If weather<br />
looks threatening, we work in sections. Right after we clear away the old roofing material, we<br />
make sure to get the first ply (or base membrane) down for that section. We use roofing<br />
sealant around all the edges and details, like chimneys, vents, skylights, and fans.<br />
If water got into a tar and gravel roof when we’re installing <strong>it</strong>, <strong>it</strong> can blister and crack. We won’t<br />
install <strong>it</strong> unless the cond<strong>it</strong>ions are right for <strong>it</strong>. If that means a delay, so be <strong>it</strong>. We won’t sacr<strong>if</strong>ice<br />
the integr<strong>it</strong>y of your roof just to get the job done.<br />
Here’s <strong>What</strong> We do <strong>if</strong> We’re Shingling a House in Rainy Cond<strong>it</strong>ions<br />
The first step when we’re shingling a house is tear off the old shingles and underlay, which we<br />
won’t do <strong>if</strong> we know <strong>it</strong>’s going to rain. Normally we will take off all the shingles on a house in<br />
one day. W<strong>it</strong>h bigger houses, we work in sections to minimise the chances of being caught in<br />
the rain.<br />
Once the shingles are off, we prep the roof and install a synthetic underlay. This synthetic<br />
underlay is waterproof and provides a degree of protection. It’s not indestructible and could<br />
potentially rip off <strong>if</strong> <strong>it</strong>’s super windy, but under normal circumstances, <strong>it</strong>’s great for keeping out<br />
any sudden small showers. Once the underlay is on, the next step is to nail down the shingles to<br />
completely seal the roof during any weather cond<strong>it</strong>ions.
If <strong>it</strong> starts raining and the underlay is on, we can just wa<strong>it</strong> out the rain and then keep working.<br />
We know that the second we pack up to go, the rain will stop (that’s Edmonton weather for<br />
you!).<br />
Here’s <strong>What</strong> <strong>Happens</strong> <strong>if</strong> We’re Doing <strong>Roof</strong> <strong>Repairs</strong> in the Rain<br />
We get calls all the time during rainstorms for emergency repairs. If your roof is leaking, you’ll<br />
want <strong>it</strong> to stop as soon as possible. For smaller patches of roofs that need repairs, we use a roof<br />
sealant, which is a kind of plastic cement. It keeps out water and can be used during the rain,<br />
however this product isn’t meant to last a long time and shouldn’t be used for a full roof repair.<br />
If <strong>it</strong>’s a long-term or permanent repair, and not just an emergency water damage prevention<br />
thing during a rainstorm, the weather should be clear.<br />
Click here to read about a roof leak repair we did for a flat roofed home in Sherwood Park.<br />
<strong>What</strong> We Do in the Worst Case Scenario<br />
We try hard to not let the weather get the best of us, but <strong>it</strong> helps to be prepared! In the case<br />
that a rain shower does start suddenly, we carry tarps to keep everything dry while we work.<br />
So Enjoy the Rain and Know that We’ve Got you Covered<br />
So don’t worry about the threat of rain <strong>if</strong> you’re getting work done on your roof. We keep an<br />
eye on the weather and we are prepared for rain <strong>if</strong> <strong>it</strong> does come down suddenly. If <strong>it</strong>’s reroofing,<br />
roof repairs, emergency roofing , or eavestrough installation or maintenance, we have<br />
you covered.<br />
Give us a call at (780) 466-1601, or vis<strong>it</strong> our contact page to get in touch w<strong>it</strong>h us for any of your<br />
roofing needs.
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