Winter storms have this charming habit of arriving without warning and leaving expensive calling cards in their wake.
We’ve learned the hard way that hoping for mild weather isn’t much of a strategy. Whether you’re dealing with the kind of heavy snows that keep Salt Lake City roofing companies working overtime or just enough accumulation to cause trouble, your home needs protection before the first flake falls.
Most people add winter prep to their mental to-do lists… but then never get around to it until it’s already too late. Then they’re standing in puddles, hopelessly watching their ceiling leak expand.
These six approaches will save you from joining that cold and soggy club.
1. Remove Snow Before Your Roof Gives Up
Your roof handles a lot, but it wasn’t built to store a winter’s worth of precipitation. Standard residential roofs manage around 20 pounds per square foot. Wet snow? That can hit 60 pounds per cubic foot. The math gets ugly fast.
We use a roof rake with an extending handle to pull snow down from the edges. Start from one end and work across systematically. Don’t attempt to clear everything in one session, unless you enjoy explaining to the emergency room staff how you ended up surfing down your own eaves.
The key is staying ahead of accumulation rather than waiting for problems to develop.
2. Make Your Gutters Actually Function
Blocked gutters in winter are a recipe for disaster. When drainage fails, water backs up and freezes into ice dams that damage roofing, siding, and foundations. We clean ours thoroughly before snow season and installed guards to reduce debris buildup.
Downspouts need to channel water at least six feet from your foundation. Water pooling near the base freezes, expands, and creates cracks that become expensive springtime surprises. We learned this after finding several hairline cracks in our foundation wall three years ago.
Check these systems regularly during winter months, rather than discovering problems when damage is already done.
3. Stop Heat From Escaping Where It Shouldn’t
Escaping heat creates perfect ice dam conditions. Warm air melts rooftop snow, which refreezes at colder edges and traps water behind the dam. That trapped water finds creative ways into your living space.
We focused on sealing attic air leaks, window gaps, and anywhere warmth might escape. Proper attic insulation keeps heat inside while maintaining consistent roof temperatures that prevent freeze-thaw cycles.
The work takes a weekend but prevents weeks of dealing with water damage later.
4. Address Tree Branches Before They Address Your Roof
Snow-loaded branches become projectiles with poor aim. A branch that holds a tire swing all summer can snap under ice weight and crash through windows or punch holes in roofing. To save ourselves from such horrors, we walk our property each fall, identifying potential threats.
Professional tree services are crucial for handling anything near power lines and anything that calls for serious ladder work. Their fees cost less than roof repairs or explaining to insurance adjusters why we thought amateur tree surgery was sensible.
Remove obvious hazards before weather turns them into expensive problems.
5. Prevent Pipes From Becoming Ice Sculptures
Frozen pipes remind you that water expands when it freezes, and plumbing systems don’t accommodate this physics demonstration well. Pipes in basements, crawl spaces, and exterior walls face the highest risk.
We wrap exposed pipes with foam insulation and disconnect garden hoses from outdoor faucets. During extreme cold, cabinet doors under sinks stay open to circulate warm air around pipes. When temperatures drop below freezing, we let faucets drip slightly to maintain water movement.
These small steps prevent major headaches when temperatures plummet.
6. Assemble Emergency Supplies That Matter
Power outages and impassable roads turn winter storms from inconveniences into genuine survival situations. We stock non-perishable food, water, flashlights, batteries, and a battery-powered radio.
Extra blankets, warm clothing, and necessary medications stay easily accessible. Our portable generator keeps essential appliances running, but we only operate it outdoors away from windows to avoid carbon monoxide issues.
Preparation makes the difference between weathering storms comfortably and camping in your own house.
Winter will test your home regardless of preparation levels. The difference is whether you’re protecting your investment proactively or calling contractors while standing in puddles of melted snow. These strategies won’t guarantee damage-free winters, but they dramatically improve your odds of emerging with both your home and budget intact.
