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To be honest, this picture was not taken in Portland or Beaverton, but it was taken in Oregon. In fact, the house sat high up on a hill outside of Hillsboro. Are the weather forecasters predicting a tough winter this year? I’m not sure, but based on the number of acorns I found in my yard this fall, it could be a real dozy.

Getting your roof ready for winter involves more than just your roof. There are the gutters that need to be cleaned and checked, making sure they will safely remove the water away from the roof and house. If you plan on using your fireplace or woodstove you will need to have the unit and flue inspected to make sure they are safe and clean. Don’t forget about any dryer, bath, or stove vents that are important to be functioning correctly to remove the smoke and moisture from the interior of your home, especially in winter when it is more tightly sealed.

Now back to the roof and why it is so important to make sure it is in good shape for the up and coming winter months. Wind, ice dams, debris, snow, often cause water to be forced or diverted into areas that can cause leaks. If flashings are lifted, or singles are not laying flat, or debris is backing up water flow on the roof, all of these roof problems can result in a sudden leak. One problem as demonstrated by the Hillsboro roof picture shown above is the difficulty in finding and repairing leaks during a winter weather event.

So what is a homeowner to do? If you are a do it yourself-er, set your ladder securely up and do a visual of the items we spoke about above. If you can make the repairs yourself, great, if not, call your local roofing professional. Most of the items on the roof we discussed are not expensive to repair, but they can cause very extensive damage and thus repairs to items like sheetrock and wood flooring. So if you live on a hill outside of Hillsboro, or maybe just a small bump in Tigard, Tualatin, or Portland, get your roof ready for a NW winter.