February Roofing Projects

February is Minnesota's exam month for roofs. The snowpack sits heavy, the freeze-thaw cycle runs daily rehearsals, and any weakness in ventilation or flashing gets published to the whole neighborhood in the form of icicles and ceiling stains.

Our February work divides into three categories. Rescues: ice-dam steaming and emergency leak control, always steam, never picks, because a pick treats the symptom and hires the lawsuit. Assessments: attic checks that trace stains to their true source, which is frequently a bathroom fan dumping moist air into a cold attic. And steady progress: full replacements on the blue-sky days when panels warm enough to seat seals.

This February's favorite: a 1962 rambler in Arden Hills whose owners had fought the same bedroom-corner leak for nine winters. Four previous contractors had patched the roof. Our attic thermometer told the real story, a disconnected bath fan humidifying the attic like a greenhouse. Thirty dollars of duct and an hour of sealing ended the nine-year war.

February wisdom: the roof you see and the attic you forget must agree about moisture. When they argue, call someone who listens to both.