Unique weather this year has led to a number of Bragg Creek area houses to experience water leaks and extensive roof damage.
“This year we’ve had a lot of calls. We’ve done a lot of roofs this year,” said Lowell Harder, owner of Harder and Sons Exterior Maintenance Services Inc.
The company has been working in the Bragg Creek community since 2009 and has never seen a winter this busy.
The closest comparable year was in 2013, but Harder said the company was still not as busy.
He said that the heavy snows, combined with the rapid temperature increases during chinooks, created the perfect storm for roof leaks.
2013 had a busy start to the winter, but roof damages and snow clearing tapered off around January after a chinook melted all the snow.
This year looks like a lull in roof leaks and snow removal is a long way off.
“The biggest thing is if you have a lot of snow on your roof always be looking,” said Harder. “If you’re starting to see ice or icicles forming you really should deal with it right away.”
One of the steps to prevent roof leaks is looking for ice buildup along the eave-line of one’s roof.
“If it starts to build up you want to get on that right away. But then you probably have to get up on the roof and find out how much your ice has built up,” said Harder.
He said it is essential to clear snow away from the ice line by at least one foot and any potential leaks that are occurring.
This can help prevent ice dams and hopefully stop leaks before they start.
He recommended purchasing a roof rake, a telescopic tool allowing one to clear the roof from the ground.
To be safe, Harder said to clear at least two feet above the eave, before it ices up, as a preventative step to avoid water leaks.
“There’s a lot of snow loads on peoples roofs. I would image we’re going to get more calls come next week when it warms up again,” said Harder.
Harder expects to stay busy over the course of the spring, with melting snow creating more roof leaks in the community.
Doug Simpson, a Redwood Meadows resident, has experienced an estimated $5,000 to $7,000 in damages from a roof leak.
“The ice just built up up there and wasn’t noticed. It’s unfortunate, but I hear it’s happening a lot,” said Simpson. ‘“We’re really fortunate. It could have been a lot worse, and we got it when we did.”
Simpson returned home from a trip in mid-March to discover a water leak had spread from the roof of his house to under the flooring. Simpson said he could see the water running down the inside of his house.
He discovered a block of ice on the roof that was 6 inches to 8 inches thick and 8 feet wide.
“It was like a big peak of ice. There was a huge dam it took a sledgehammer to break it all out,” said Simpson.
The damage spread across the kitchen, dining room and living room, and took place right after the Redwood Meadows resident had completed renovations to the house.
“It’s such an inconvenience to rip out your kitchen,” said Simpson.
The damaged area is currently ripped out and drying so Simpson can begin repairs. He anticipates that it will take a couple weeks to complete the repairs.
“You have to keep an eye on it and keep the snow off the areas that you know you may have ice dams building up,” said Simpson.
