After years with no worries over roof collapses, multiple snowstorms raise concerns

A worker from M.J. Murphy and Sons Roofing recently clearing snow from a roof. (Photo provided)

DOVER - It's been several years since there's been much of a threat of roofs collapsing under the weight of heavy, wet snow, but one local roofing contractor thinks this winter could provide "the perfect storm" that could spell trouble.
"There's been very little problem the past few years, but this year I'm getting an influx of calls over homeowners concerned about the possibility of a roof collapse," Colby Grant of M.J. Murphy and Sons Roofing of Dover said today. "So far we haven't had the wet heavy snow cause it's been too cold."
Grant said the worse-case scenario is often when light, fluffy snow piles up on a roof followed by a heavy wet snow, or worse still, rain, that saturates the snow beneath and creates a lot of weight that could cause a roof collapse.
"If we get a storm at 32 degrees, and the snow mixes with sleet or rain that weight is going to be incredible," he said.
Such a scenario could surface on Thursday when a mixture of snow, sleet and ice is predicted.
Grant said most of the concern is with homes' lower roofs, which usually have less pitch than their higher roofs and are more vulnerable to collapse.
He said in the past week his company has received dozens of calls from homeowners concerned with the amount of snow they see on their roofs after multiple, smaller storms this month and January.
"Some are calling us to check out their roofs to make sure they're in good shape," he said.
He noted that while every roof is different, the cost to clear them is usually between $250-$500 depending on the square footage and the pitch.
"The real problem hits when you have a lot of little storms and then the big one," he said.