Winter Roof Replacement and Repair: Is It Possible or Not?

For most homeowners, conducting any roof repairs and especially roof replacements in late fall or winter makes no sense. Thus, if they notice any issues with their roofs or want to get their house reroofed completely due to the fact that their current roofing is too worn out to serve as a proper protection to their home and it’s too damaged to be fixed, they try to address the issue before the cold weather kicks in.

Thus, the last month of summer, as well as September and October are considered to be the most appropriate months for roof repairs and replacements. Consequently, that time of the year is the busiest for roofing contractors, who receive numerous maintenance and reroofing orders during those months.

However, sometimes various roof incidents that might happen due to the extreme weather conditions and cause significant damage to the roof and hidden problems, which become obvious only in winter, don’t leave homeowners any choice but to conduct emergency repairs to protect their house and family from further damage and destruction. 

The lack of time and finances within the most appropriate roofing months, as well as some other conditions like buying a house, which requires roof renovation, in winter, may also force us into getting the roof repaired or reinstalled under the least favorable weather conditions.

However, even understanding the risks and concerns related to roofing in winter, you should get your roof inspected by an experienced professional who’ll tell you whether the situation allows you to wait till spring or you need to make a quick decision to fix the issue until it develops into a more significant and costly one.

This info will help you assess the pros and cons inherent with roofing during winter and decide which steps to take immediately and which repairs/installations to postpone for later.

Can you install the roof in winter?

Well, sometimes people have no other choice. But, if you have a chance to look into the problem a bit deeper to consider the proper reroofing time, you should know that professional roofers have a strong opinion about the types of roofing that may be installed during the cold season.

Thus, when it comes to flat roofs, they say that it’s only Polyvinyl Chloride and Thermoplastic Olefin systems that may be installed at the winter time, as contractors get them set up with the help of air welding technique, no special adhesives involved.

But, you should never trust the pros who promise you to install rubber roofing on the flat surface, as they’re most likely neglecting the manufacturer’s instructions that forbid doing that if the temperature is 40°F or lower.

Of course, you may try to get that done during the warm wave that happens every now and then in winter, but as the weather is quite unpredictable during such periods, I wouldn’t risk the money put into the reroofing project. If the temperatures drop overnight, the adhesive rubber and peel-and-stick roofs are secured with just won’t bond. Thus, you’ll have to postpone the reroofing and restart the whole process once it gets warmer.

When it comes to asphalt shingles, which are widely used for residential properties with sloped roofs, there’s a high chance an experienced roofing contractor will be able to install them right even in winter.  The only thing is that he has to choose proper wintertime adhesive to seal the seams between the shingles, as well as calculate the timing right, so that the roof is warm enough for the adhesive/sealant to bond well and the weather isn’t too windy to lift the shingles up while the adhesive is still bonding. Besides, he’ll have to handle the shingles quite carefully not to crack and break them.

Therefore, the only type of roofing that is not risky to install in winter is metal, as the weather conditions have no particular influence on the process of its installation.

Having considered that info you should always consult with the contractor that’s going to work on your roof and ask his opinion (instead of persuading him to do the job ASAP) to figure out the best option for your home/building and ensure that the newly installed roof will serve you long and good.

Problems that require urgent roof repair even in winter:

1. ice dams and leaks in sloped asphalt shingled roofs
2. ice dams removal
3. flashing and chimney issues (with the use of non-freeze adhesive)
4. replacement of broken and missing shingles
5. gutter repair or installation
6. roof installation in case of terrible damage caused by storms and other disasters