Loving Your House: Love Note #4
(Helpful hints for homeowners and homeowners-to-be from the Director of Design & Construction, H. Dynia)
July 2014
This is the time of
year when we may not be fully done with recovering from or repairing the damage
caused by last winter’s severe weather, and should be planning our defense for
next winter. It was a terrible season
for ice damming on roof edges, and rough on hardscapes (pavement areas) and
landscaping.
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Diagram from home-partners.com
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Usually by the time you realize that you have an ice-dam problem, it is difficult to do anything that stops or minimizes the damage. Now is the time to think about how to avoid this kind of problem for next winter, because we do not know how challenging or benign the next winter will be! Here are 3 possible strategies to deal with ice dams:
1. If your roof is worn and ready for
re-roofing, current building codes require membranes along the lower edges of
the roof that greatly reduce leaks from ice dams.
2. Place heat-producing cables along roof edges
and gutters to melt away ice as it forms. These products are readily available at home centers and hardware
stores, but can be challenging to install if you are not comfortable with
heights and ladders. Follow the products
instructions for installation and use. They will cost you some electricity to
operate.
3. Acquire a roof rake and pull off as much snow
from the roof as you can, if you can reach it with the extended handle of the
roof rake. Especially concentrate on the
eve (lower) areas. If the sun can reach
the roof material, it often can warm it enough to defeat ice build-up.
Another casualty of
the past winter has been hardscape areas, which may have been damaged by snow
plows, snow shovels, ice choppers, and ice melting chemicals. When using de-icing chemicals on concrete or
concrete pavers, only use products that are labeled as “pavement
friendly”. Sodium Chloride (rock salt)
destroys concrete. Calcium Chloride is
less destructive. Surface damage to
limited areas such as steps, porches, etc. can be repaired with high-strength
concrete repair and re-surfacing materials, a task within grasp of most
homeowners.
Landscape plantings
also were slow to recover from the rainfall deficit of last year, the prolonged
low temperatures, and heavy snow loads thrust upon them from snow plows, snow
throwers, and shoveling. Some trees and shrubs
were very slow to recover and are still not yet fully leafed-out. Here are some steps to take to improve the
survivability of your trees and shrubs year-round:
1. Careful pruning can insure that the tree or
shrub is structurally able to survive these loads without a lot of broken branches
in windy storms and the coming winter.
2. Planning “snow storage” space should be part
of your landscape plan to avoid burying your plants under glaciers of ice and
snow.
3. Fertilizing at appropriate times will avoid
late fall soft new growth that will not be survivable.
4. Heavy mulch in late fall to keep their feet
warm and moist, especially important for broad-leaved evergreens. Mulch applied too early will trigger a growth
spurt that will not be ready for winter.
5. Timely applications of Wilt-Pruf, a sticky
Elmer’s glue like anti-transpirant that is sprayed on will act as an overcoat
to limit the plant’s need for water when the ground is frozen, minimizing desiccation.
6. Plants should end
the growing season with adequate soil moisture, since below ground growth
continues during the winter.
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