Winters can be a tough time for roofs. That’s because when heavy snow accumulates on a roof, its weight causes it a great deal of stress and can lead to issues like weakening, leaking and possible collapsing where the accumulation is most prominent.
The G. McNeill & Son snow removal team understands the many complexities and hazards that can harm your site’s roof during the winter. That’s why our more than 50 years of experience make our roof snow removal service ideal for your property.
We have a variety of different clients with commercial property. G. McNeill & Son serves businesses ranging from shopping centers, sports complexes & healthcare facilities to industrial sites, office buildings, HOAs & parking lots.
Final snow accumulation can weigh anywhere from 1 to 21 pounds per cubic foot no matter where it falls. But on a roof, that can really add up during a larger snowstorm or nor’easter. Especially one that’s either really old, already damaged for any other reason(s), really flat, featuring low-slope pitches or any combination of the four.
And the accumulated snow can wreak havoc on your site in a number of different ways. This includes leaks coming into the building, part of or the entire roof collapsing and can even cause carbon dioxide poisoning to those inside the structure if not treated in a timely manner.
That’s where our roof snow removal services come in. They start even before winter weather hits because we perform a pre-season inspection to see the most efficient and expedited way to remove the accumulation from any and all parts of the roof(s). We’ll take an in-depth look at all aspects of your site’s roofing to find any spots where you have units that need special attention.
We’ll even let you know if there’s any damage that is imminent and needs to get addressed before the bad weather comes our way. Even a small snowfall won’t be good for a part of the roof that already has an existing issue, with a larger storm potentially making things even worse.
Each of the snow removal experts here at G. McNeill & Son utilize a special app that allows us to provide you with a report detailing everything you need to know while we service your site. This includes (but is not limited to) your location, the date(s) that our team came to perform service for you and the amount of time that it took to get rid of all of the accumulation from your roofing.
While our operators are in the field, both you and our staff will receive updated weather reports to ensure the job is done in the most timely manner possible to minimize any potential long-term damage. You’ll also be able to access a live call-in center while storms are going on that are available 24/7 to give you any updates you want and answer any questions you may have.
If there is a pending storm or nor’easter reported, the team here at G. McNeill & Son will proactively reach out to you to let you know in case you aren’t checking the weather regularly. We’ll arrange a time when the snow has mostly stopped coming down, so we can come out to your site and take care of your roofing.
We also work for your business during emergencies that aren’t foreseen. Simply contact us and we’ll make sure that you get immediate relief for a major roofing issue that may have occurred during another storm or multiple bad weather events & just discovered.
Roof snow removal is a lot more complicated than you may think it is. While removing the snow is the primary goal, we also want to make sure we don’t do that without damaging the integrity of your site’s roof and there are several things that need to be done in order to avoid that.
A few of the steps that the G. McNeill & Son staff take to ensure the structure is safe for all include:
In terms of getting rid of the snow, we use several tools to allow us to remove it efficiently. Like we do on the ground, we are able to use a shovel to take a bulk load of heavier snowfalls off of a roof. There are also snow rakes on the market, which more so resemble a garden hoe than a literal rake, and that are very effective when removing snow as long as you can hit the solid roof below the accumulation.
And of course, we have more professional tools for larger roofs. These include snow melting mats that can be applied after the fact to literally turn the accumulation into water that can just flow down, as long as you remember to clear the gutters first!
Depending on how large your roof is and how many complexities it has, removing snow from it can be one of the more time-consuming aspects of the entire process. But we’ll already account for that since we’ll have the schematics of your roof from the time we did your pre-season assessment.
In case you don’t know what ice dams are, they are the icy leftovers that are on the edge of your roof as a result of snow melting and not being able to flow off since the gutters are not properly clear. Flatter roofs are more susceptible to getting ice dams, but steeper roofs can also fall victim to this potentially hazardous & expensive obstacle.
What happens is that snow melts from the upper portions of the roof and the water trickles down. Once the water reaches the eave and the roof temperature is below freezing level in that area, an ice dam forms. From there, more water from melting snow will pool behind said dam and will rise under the shingles until it seeps into the building via a shingle fastener hole.
Because the water stays on the roof, these ridges of ice can actually damage the roof to the point where leaking can occur and cause you to have an unnecessary cost that your budget may not have accounted for. Putting off ice dam removal service can even cause structural damage and a potential cave in.
As part of our pre-season inspection, we’ll determine where ice dams may accumulate the most based on the natural path of the sun compared to the building(s) we’re taking care of along with the slope(s) that your site’s roof(s) has. And that assessment will give us a plan of attack on how to remove the ice dams.
There’s a tool we use called an ice dam steamer that heats up water & coils using a kerosene burner to turn it into steam. From there, the steam goes through a hose that goes up to the roof where one of our professionals can use the tool to melt through & under the ice dam. As a result, the ice dam will loosen from the roof & gutters to easily remove them.
If you’re concerned that this steamer will damage the shingles or any other aspect of the roof, you won’t need to worry since the low pressure of the steam only channels the heat towards melting through the ice without doing any harm to the structural integrity & the aesthetic of your roof.
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