I Should Have Gotten Snow Guards
A freak hail storm three years ago in western North Carolina destroyed my asphalt roof shingles. Happily, that damage led to my insurance company authorizing a full roof replacement and my selection of Bellaforté simulated slate roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes.
Living far from the mountains near Asheville is great. Terrific views, lots of activities and very little chance of snowstorms and severe weather — until this winter.
Two weeks ago an unexpected storm left behind a thick one-inch coating of ice on everything, including my imitation slate tiles. When the sun finally warmed our area, huge sheets of ice came crashing off my roof. Why? Because I didn't order snow guards for my new manufactured slate roof.
Thinking this was a rare occurrence, I lived with the noisy explosions of sliding ice until the roof was clear. Then, a week later I knew my mistake of not ordering snow guards was coming back to haunt me. A frigid weather system dumped 8 inches of snow in my area overnight. As soon as the sun rose, massive sheets of snow came avalanching down on my bushes. The thunderous and unexpected sound had my heart beating quickly and my nervous dogs barking uncontrollably.
Lesson learned. Even though storms in my area are indeed rare, I'm looking into getting snow guards this Spring for my synthetic slate roofing. Once installed, the ice and snow will melt more evenly to reduce the massive slides off my imitation slate shingles … resulting in saving my shrubbery and my sanity.
For more details on the benefits of snow guards for composite roofing, see Slip, Sliding Away… Might Need Snow Guards and Fake Slate Shingles and Snow Guards.