The last thing folks want to think about during the cold winter months is roof repairs, but sometimes there’s little choice. Luckily roofing during an Alberta winter isn’t the abominable snow beast you might think it is – usually, it just takes some extra planning and attentive prep work!

Read on to get a brief run-down of things to know about when considering a wintertime roof repair during wintertime in Alberta.

Should You Tackle Roof Repairs In The Winter?

There’s nothing like a bitterly cold Edmonton winter to help you realize that your roof’s insulation needs attention. And there’s nothing like a Calgary Chinook to help you discover that your roof has suddenly developed a leak. In both these cases, the question quickly becomes whether you should fix your roof right away or if you should wait until summer to deal with it?

The quick answer is:  It depends.

The longer answer is:

If the problem is bad enough that it’s causing you serious issues right now then you can bet your bottom dollar it isn’t going to get better with time. And even if the problem isn’t giving you a huge headache at the moment, will you be safe waiting to address it when warmer weather arrives?

With this in mind, your best bet is to call a professional roofer with many years of practical winter roofing experience under their tool belt. A knowledgeable roofer will be able to assess the severity of your roof repair. They will let you know if you should get it fixed ASAP, or whether you can hold off until warmer weather returns.

Finding Advice You Can Trust:
Things Roofers Must Consider With Winter Roof Repairs 

Photo of a man sawing branches off a fallen tree on his roof in the winter.

Some roof repairs just won’t wait.

We all know Alberta has 2 seasons:

  1. Normal construction season
  2. Snowy construction season

… and roofing in our province’s two biggest cities is no exception.

Even though the busiest season in Alberta’s roofing industry is without doubt the summer, we’re still hard at work repairing roofs in Edmonton and Calgary throughout the cold winter months. Our amazing crews of local roofing experts know what it takes to repair a roof the right way, even when that roof is under a meter of snow.

If it sounds like we’re bragging a bit here, it’s because we are! We take immense pride in being counted as one of the best local roofing companies and we know we wouldn’t have this honour without our exceptional crews of top-notch roofing pros.

It’s with this in mind that you can be confident that we know our stuff when it comes to winter roof repairs in Calgary and Edmonton.

With this in mind, what follows is a brief list of things any good roofing company will consider when taking on a roof repair in the wintertime.

What To Know About Winter Roofing In Edmonton and Calgary

Roof repair in the winter is something that demands roofing contractors with very high levels of both skill and experience. This is because of both the technical and safety demands of roofing when there’s snow, ice, and cold to contend with.

Technical challenges:

On the technical side, colder weather impacts the resilience of some of the materials and tools that are used during the roofing process. For example, asphalt shingles lose flexibility and become more brittle in colder weather. Because of this, an experienced and professional roofer will stage their shingle bundles in a warm location (somewhere above 10ºC) and as flat as possible prior to using them.

Another example of the technical challenges with roofing in the winter is with nail guns. A knowledgeable roofer will know to double-check the pressure setting of their nail gun to accommodate for both the colder weather and the colder weather’s impacts on the materials we’re nailing down. This is an important detail to remember, but one that some inexperienced roofing outfits have been known to overlook.

While the technical demands of winter roof repairs require extra attention, experienced professional roofing companies know how to handle these winter roofing demands. Precautions include (but are not limited to):

  • Proper storage of materials
  • Additional prep work for tools, materials, equipment, and the worksite
  • Paying extra close attention to the task at hand

 

Photo of an Edmonton heritage building's roof being replaced in winterSafety considerations:

Here at Advanced Level Roofing, we always make safety a top priority. And when it comes to winter roof repairs and installations, you can rest assured that we have done everything we can to ensure the safety of our crews and our clients. A big part of this is ensuring our crews have the best gear. In the winter that includes specific kinds of work clothing and footwear that allow them to do an effective job while staying nice and warm.

Winter roofing safety also includes extra slip & fall protection. We take everything into account when prepping for safety. In the winter we also factor in extra considerations for icy surfaces, snowy obstacles that have frozen solid, frostbite, as well as possible “mini avalanches” (AKA: snow slides) that could easily push both workers and equipment off the roof.

These potential roofing hazards threaten both roofers and folks on the ground below. So any roofing company worth their salt will be ultra-cautious and conscientious when there’s snow and cold!

A Quick Final Word:

Roofing during the winter months takes more considered preparation and, depending on what Old Man Winter throws at us, patience – especially in climates as we have in Edmonton and Calgary!

That said, it’s important to know that wintertime roof repairs are fully doable when you have the right roofers on the job. Don’t let cold weather stop you from addressing a roofing problem that springs up in the middle of winter; a good, reliable roofer will be able to recommend both how and when to best fix your roofing issue.


Do you have a question about your roof? Then feel free to get in touch with us! We are always happy to help our fellow Albertans with whatever roofing concerns might be popping up. We’ve got you covered!


Founded & headquartered in Calgary, Advanced Level Roofing is now incredibly proud to offer our professional services for:

•   Calgary roofing   •   Edmonton roofing   •   Kelowna roofing   •   Winnipeg roofing