Why we're writing this one
Around 210 people a month search this, and the searches peak from November to February, so it needs to be live in October.
Homeowners with a leak or an old roof want to know if they have to wait until spring. An honest answer from a roofer who works through Michigan and Indiana winters beats anything the national sites write.
Your customers already tell this story for you: Brian D. in Portage, whose roof went on ahead of a snow storm, and Terri S. in Niles, whose crew drove over from Shipshewana in bad weather when nobody else would come.
Your questions, Lyle
About 20 minutes. Real numbers (temperatures, days, prices) and real jobs are what make this one work.
- The basics
- Do you replace roofs right through the winter, or do you slow down or stop? Which months are quietest?
- Is there a temperature where you stop putting on shingles? What about metal?
- What does cold do to a shingle when you're installing it? Do the guys do anything different, like hand-sealing or storing bundles somewhere warm?
- The Warsaw roof lost shingles in December and January wind before they could seal. How do you stop that happening on a winter job?
- Metal and repairs
- Is metal easier to install in winter than shingles? Anything that changes in the cold?
- What winter repair calls do you get most: leaks, ice dams, wind damage, snow?
- You pulled snow off Terri's roof in Niles. Is snow removal something you do every winter, or only when someone's stuck?
- If a homeowner has a leak in January, what do you do that day, and what waits for better weather?
- Booking and price
- Is it easier to get on your schedule in winter? Do prices change at all with the season?
- Does a winter job take longer than the usual one to two days for asphalt, or two to four for metal?
- The crew and the honest answer
- How do the guys handle snow, ice and safety on the roof? What do you do to protect the house if weather turns mid-job?
- When do you tell a homeowner it's better to wait for spring?
- Three or four Pro Tips: what should a homeowner do this fall before the snow comes?
Photos that would help
Any winter job: the crew on a roof with snow around, a tarp over an open section, or snow being cleared. Town name with each. Your new content helper could grab these on the first cold job.