MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Frozen and bursting pipes were just the beginning of the headaches after the Mid-South was hit with a wave of winter storms. Now, leaking roofs are a growing concern.
“There’s going to be an unprecedented amount of leaks," Brent Simmons said.
Simmons owns Restoration Roofing located in Collierville. He and his team were out early Thursday morning proactively clearing ice from a roof of a home. He's expecting the phones to start ringing soon.
“We’re going to be overwhelmed with calls," he said.
Simmons said ice dams building on roofs are going to lead to a lot of headaches for Mid-South homeowners.
“Ice damming is when snow begins to melt and when it reaches the edge of the roof where the gutters are, it freezes again. That’s the coldest part of the roof there," Simmons said.
That blocks the melted snow from draining and it instead builds into a puddle on the roof which can lead to damage.
“I went to a home yesterday and probably 20 feet of the inside of her interior wall was pouring out," Simmons said.
Eric Helvie is already dealing with leaks coming from his office and dining room due to ice damming up.
“We started poking holes in where it was bubbling to kind of ease it up and we started calling roofers, experts, and that’s what they told us to do," Helvie said.
The holes in his ceiling are meant to try and prevent the leaks from spreading.
“I grew up, up north," Helvie said. "I’ve never, we’ve had gutters on our house, never had this problem."
Simmons said many roofs in the south are not made to hold up against the unprecedented snow storm the Mid-South just experienced. The codes aren't the same as up north, he said.
As to what to do about a leak or breaking up an ice dam? Simmons says to call an expert. Don't try to fix it yourself.
“Don’t get on your roof if you don’t know what you’re doing," he said. "It’s dangerous without ice and snow and you throw this into the equation, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
Simmons said leaks shouldn't go ignored and often roofing companies offer inspections for free.
State Farm has also provided tips on what to do and what not to do here.