REPAIRS &MAINTENANCE.
Leaks, ice dams, wind damage, and the checklist that prevents most of it.
- GUIDES
- 4
- GLOSSARY TERMS
- 6
Most roofs don't fail all at once. They fail at a detail: a lifted shingle, a cracked pipe boot, a valley packed with debris, flashing that let go at a wall. Caught early, nearly all of those are small repairs.
This shelf is about finding problems while they're still small, understanding what's causing them, and knowing which ones you can safely look at from the ground.
- Where is my leak actually coming from?
- Why do I get ice dams, and how do I stop them?
- What does wind damage look like?
- What should I check every season?
READ THEM IN THIS ORDER.
- 01Finding a roof leak: where the water is really coming fromThe stain on your ceiling is where the water landed, not where it got in. Here's how to trace a leak back to its source, safely, and what to do while you wait for a repair.
- 02Seasonal roof maintenance checklist for Calgary homesFour short checklists, one per season, that catch most roof problems while they're still cheap. Almost all of it happens from the ground or the attic.
- 03Ice dams in Calgary: why they form and how to stop themAn ice dam is a heat problem that shows up as an ice problem. Here's how they form, why Calgary's chinooks make them worse, what removal is safe, and what actually prevents them.
THE BASICS
Plain-language primers. Assume nothing.
Finding a roof leak: where the water is really coming from
The stain on your ceiling is where the water landed, not where it got in. Here's how to trace a leak back to its source, safely, and what to do while you wait for a repair.
Seasonal roof maintenance checklist for Calgary homes
Four short checklists, one per season, that catch most roof problems while they're still cheap. Almost all of it happens from the ground or the attic.
Wind damage to shingles: what it looks like and what it means
Wind rarely tears a roof off in one piece. It lifts, creases and unseals shingles, and a few missing tabs can mean many more are loose. Here's how to read the signs.
DEEP DIVES
For when you're mid-decision, mid-claim or mid-argument.
THE REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE GLOSSARY.
- Attic frost
- Frost that builds up on the underside of the roof deck when warm, moist household air reaches a cold attic. It can melt and drip like a leak when the weather warms.
- Creased shingle
- A shingle with a line across it where wind lifted and bent it. The crease weakens the shingle, which may not lie flat or shed water as well afterward.
- Granule loss
- Shingles shedding their surface granules, seen as bare patches or granules collecting in the eavestrough. Some loss is normal with age; heavy or patchy loss can point to wear or hail damage.
- Heat cable
- An electric resistance cable clipped along the eaves in a zigzag, often run down the eavestroughs and downspouts. It can relieve ice dam problem spots, but it treats the symptom, not the cause.
- Ice dam
- A ridge of ice at the eave that forms when heat melts snow higher on the roof and the water refreezes at the cold overhang. Water can back up behind it and under the shingles.
- Nail pop
- A roofing nail that has backed out and lifted the shingle above it, creating a spot where water can get in.