Roof Leaks in General
The Colorado winter can wreak havoc on both residential roofs and commercial roofs. Often times you won’t know that you had a roofing problem until it snows and you start to see a leak in the roof that could even work its way into your home or building. If you see a leak chances are that the leak has already been happening for a while and it has now worked its way into your home or building as is visible to you. In general, roof leaks are not visible immediately, they often take time before they work their way through the framing, insulation, ceiling, and into your line of sight. This is why it’s important to attend to a roofing problem right away especially if you can see missing shingles, missing tiles, or hear strange flapping of materials on your roof.
Colorado Roofers
Unfortunately, your options are limited if your roof is leaking and there is snow on the roof or if the snow is still coming down. The roofing business in Colorado is mainly seasonal, so most roofing contractors tend to take the winter months off or shut down their business until the weather gets better in the spring. In addition, most roofing contractors will not get on a roof if it has snow on it due to safety but if you are willing to pay and call around to enough roofing contractors you will probably find a roofing contractor who is willing to get on the roof, remove the snow, and perform a temporary repair. If you have a sloped roof with shingles, tile, synthetic roofing, metal then they will need equipment such as ropes and harnesses to access the roof safely and in Colorado the charges for this kind of service can start at $750 and will go up from there. The pricing for such a service is really up to the contractor and there is no real standard pricing for these kinds of emergency repairs. In general, the more dangerous the roof the higher the price will be due to multiple being being necessary. The complexity of the emergency repair will also be a factor. These emergency repairs are usually temporary in nature and do not come with any warranties that the roof will actually stop leaking.
Commercial Flat Roofs
If you have a commercial flat roof then it will be easier to work on in the snow but it will still be costly. In general, commercial roofing is more expensive than residential roofing due to the mere fact that the roofing contractor is dealing with a business rather than an individual homeowner. There are roofing materials that can be used in the wet, but based on my experience as a roofing contractor for over ten years, these roofing materials that claim to work in wet conditions are not reliable. They may be able to get you by until the roof dries out, but it usually takes a lot of work on behalf of the installer to remove the snow, find the leak, and then use some kind of material that will be effective in stopping the leak. These kinds of repairs can be costly as well usually starting around $1,500 if you are hiring a licensed, insured, and reputable roofing contractor.
What Not to Do
You may get frustrated calling around to different roofing contractors if you have a roof leak in the snow because most roofing contractors are not equipped or have the manpower to perform emergency repairs in the snow. It is extremely difficult work and there are very few businesses who have the people willing to do it. You may get tempted to get on the roof yourself and attempt to stop the stop and I would strongly discourage you from doing it yourself especially if you have a tile, synthetic or metal roof. You are likely to cause more damage to the roofing materials and possibly make the leak even worse. You may also be tempted to use anyone that you can find or is willing to get on the roof like a handyman or someone you know who works in construction. I would also advise against this due to the high risk involved of someone getting hurt and then a claim could arise against you and your homeowners insurance or general liability insurance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you should be able to find a roofing contractor in Colorado who is willing to get on a roof in the snow. Even our company, Foothills Roofing and Exteriors, has challenges finding the manpower to get roof done in the winter especially this year 2022, due to a large amount of roofing work available in Florida. A large majority of roofing installers have gone to Florida to fix roofs damaged by hurricanes, leaving the labor pool in Colorado fairly slim. If you are willing to wait it out until the roof dries then you can usually get a free roof inspection and then a free quote to repair the leak. If you don’t want to wait and are willing to pay then it is possible to find a roofing contractor to help you stop the roof leak in the snow.
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