Question & Answer: Can I re-shingle my home in the winter?

By Dave Locklear
dave@arrowstarroofing.com

One of the more common seasonal questions we receive in the roofing business here in Oklahoma City has to do with the seasonal limitations of roofing. Specifically, people regularly ask, “Can I re-shingle my home in the winter?”

The short answer is yes, you can… but certain guidelines and precautions should be followed by homeowners to ensure a proper roofing installation. Although roofing can be done almost any time of the year in Oklahoma (in dry weather, that is), December through February can be particularly tricky for contractors. Here are a few tips and guidelines for homeowners to ensure their projects are being completed properly:

1. When your material is delivered, take time to read the back of one of the shingle packages. Here you can find installation instructions, including best installation temperature and other relevant seasonal information. Keep an eye on your contractor as the job is being completed, and make sure they are following the instructions to the letter.
2. Each shingle has a sticky tar strip on its back that helps adhere it to the shingle below. This requires heat. In spring and summer, the adhesion process may only take a few hours. Obviously, in the winter, this may take several weeks. If you are roofing in extreme cold, a small daub of caulking cement may need to be added beneath each shingle to ensure proper adhesion.
3. Nail placement on shingles is critical in winter months. If nailed too high above the shadow lines, shingles can easily blow off during gusts of wind.

NOTES: As a rule of thumb, winter roofing projects are best completed when the temperature is 40°F or rising. Also, because roofing companies tend to be slower in winter months, homeowners can typically get better deals on their projects. If you are looking to save money on your roof and are willing to carefully monitor a contractor’s work, the choice to re-roof in wintertime can prove very advantageous!

No Major Posts Today; Oklahoma City Yellow Pages; Artwork

Well, it’s been a rather dreary day here on the Web end of Arrowstar Roofing & Construction. Though I had intended to pen posts on shingle replacement, a new winter roof maintenance package here at Arrowstar (Stay Tuned for Details!) and commercial flat roofing, several other things popped up and I was not able to write our morning post. Here are a few random Arrowstar thoughts for the day!

Fortunately, however, I was able to meet with a fabulous representative named Diane Young from the User-Friendly Phone Book, the OKC Metro’s second-largest home and business directory with a distribution of 561,000… and from looking at the ads in the business section, one of the hottest ad buys on the market. I strongly recommend this publication, and can happily put any OKC business owner in touch with Diane if they wish to check into advertising for their own company. Just e-mail me for the information.

It was through her that I also learned about a great new Web site… oklahomacity247.com. I highly recommend checking it out.

Without giving too much away, I can only say that I walked away with an excellent ad package that I personally believe will bring about fantastic ROI. Be sure to look for your copy in March 2009 and check out our ads in the “Roofing” section.

From there, I spent most of the day drafting artwork ideas for our purchased space… wishing the whole time I would have bought a bigger ad. From what I have so far, however, I am more than optimistic that we will have one of the best ads in the book!

Despite hard economic times due to the smarty-pants on Wall Street, calls seem to have picked up here over the past couple days. Many thanks for that goes to the great Oklahoma City community newspapers that we regularly advertise in. When I was not busy with the marketing end of things, I was overwhelmed answering the phone. I personally look forward to a full economic recovery for our great nation by next year, but am pleased that Arrowstar is swamped with work even in the economic crisis of recent weeks.

Am also pleased that we have been working on even material certifications today, making a lot of progress in the products we will be able to offer to our commercial roofing customers.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I plan to work much of the day on our Web site and you will undoubtedly see a lot of great roofing content.

I will be updating our LiveJournal, Twitter, Myspace and Facebook profiles, groups, and blogs shortly.

Marketing Staff
Arrowstar Roofing & Construction