Part H · the register

Kirkwood Sidewalk Snow Decides Where the Roof Crew Stages in Winter

Winter roof work in Kirkwood runs into snow piles, frozen lawns and sidewalk clearing, so settle the staging spot before the first hard freeze.

A roof job that starts in late October or runs into January has a problem the July crew never meets. The ground where the bundles would sit may be frozen hard, the front walk may be under a bank of snow pushed off the street, and the spot that worked for a trailer in August may now be a drift. In Kirkwood, where many lots are narrow and the front walk runs close to the curb, snow is often what decides where the crew can stage. Settle that spot on paper before the first hard freeze, not on the morning the shingles arrive.

Town roofing in winter starts with the staging spot

The staging spot is the place where bundles, the dumpster or trailer, and the tear-off debris wait while the crew works. In summer it can be almost anywhere that is level and off the lawn. In winter the rules change. Shingles stored on frozen ground can pick up moisture from below, and cold shingles are stiffer and harder to lay flat, so a dry, level, covered place near the drop point matters more than it did in warm months. The bottom bundles also need to stay off the snow, because meltwater and refreezing can soak the lowest layer of a stack.

Many Kirkwood homes sit on lots where the only level stretch is the front yard or the driveway apron. If the front yard is the planned staging area, a snow pile from the driveway or a plow line from the street can take that space out in a single storm. Ask the crew where it will stage when the yard is under snow, not only where it stages when the yard is clear.

Sidewalks, the curb lane and the path to the door

A roof crew carries bundles, tools and ladders on foot, often several times a day. On a snowed or iced walk that is a fall hazard for the crew and for you. Many Missouri cities put sidewalk clearing on the adjoining property owner, and that duty matters on a roof job because a cleared path is part of the work area. Check with the city about what applies to your frontage. Then ask each roofer who will clear the path from the street to the drop point, and on which days. A general promise to keep the walk clear means little unless the written scope names the person and the days.

The curb lane is the other half of the question. A roof trailer or a dump truck needs a clear stretch of street, and a plowed bank at the curb can force the truck to park farther away, which means longer carries across snow. Ask whether the trailer will park on the street, whether it needs a permit or a cone, and who moves the snow bank if it blocks the spot. Kirkwood streets are not all the same width, so the answer for one block may not fit the next.

The frozen lawn and the driveway

Frozen ground carries a load differently than thawed ground. A trailer or a loaded pallet can sit on frozen turf without leaving ruts, but when the ground thaws in February the same spot may sink and show tire marks or pallet feet. Ask whether the crew will lay plywood, mats or boards under heavy loads on the lawn. A plan for that belongs in the bid, not in a favor you hope for on the day.

The driveway is often the better staging spot in winter, if it is plowed and the apron is clear. A salted concrete drive can flake under heavy loads and cold traffic, and a gravel drive can rut or hold ice that stops a truck from pulling in. Before you commit to the drive as a staging area, ask the roofer how the truck will reach it when the street is plowed and the drive is not yet cleared, so the answer is about your actual driveway and not a general rule.

Your own snow piles near the house

Homeowners pile snow too. The driveway plow line, the snow shoveled off the front steps and the snow pushed off a side walk all tend to land near the house wall, the foundation, and sometimes the eave. That pile creates two problems for a roof job. It blocks the ladder line and the spot where the crew would set a ladder against the eave. It can also keep the lower roof edge and the wall cold and wet, which is the setup for ice damming at the eave. Before the crew arrives, ask where the snow will go. If the roof is open, a pile near the wall can also mix tear-off debris with snow, and that mix is hard to pick up cleanly.

Freeze, thaw and the open roof

An open roof in winter is a separate decision. If tear-off starts and the weather turns, the crew needs to cover the deck at the end of each day, and the covering must be secured against wind before anyone leaves. Freeze and thaw cycles can loosen tarp weights and sheet edges, so the check after a warm day matters as much as the check after a storm. Ask who makes that check, what time of day it happens, and who gets the call if a sheet lifts.

What it costs

A winter staging plan rarely shows up as a line of its own, so it is easy to miss. The cost comes in pieces: extra trips to move materials off the snow, a longer carry from the street, mats or plywood laid over frozen turf, and days lost when snow or ice closes the drive or the street. A bid that says nothing about these items is not a lower bid. It is a bid where the cost is still coming, and it will show up later as a change order or a moved date.

Ask whether a weather day is billed, pushed to a later date, or absorbed into the schedule. Each answer moves money and time in a different direction. A winter start that depends on a clear forecast should say what the crew does when the forecast turns, and whether the start date moves without penalty. The price should also say who pays for a second trip if the trailer cannot reach the spot on the first day.

Ask, too, whether the crew can keep bundles in your garage overnight, and if so, for how long. A garage is a convenience only if the bid says when the bundles leave it and who is responsible for them while they sit there.

What to ask

Bring these to the first call or the written bid. Each one has a plain answer, and a roofer who cannot give that answer has not planned for winter.

1. Where will the bundles, the trailer and the debris sit on a day when the yard is under snow?
2. Who clears the path from the street to the drop point, and on which days?
3. Where does the trailer park on a plowed street, and who moves a snow bank that blocks the spot?
4. Will heavy loads on the lawn sit on plywood, mats or boards, and is that line in the bid?
5. If snow or ice closes the drive, does the start date move, and is the move written into the contract?
6. Where does snow from the drive and walks go during the job, and who keeps the eave line clear for the ladder?
7. Who checks the covering on an open roof after a freeze or a thaw, and who gets the call if a sheet lifts?
8. Are weather days billed, pushed or absorbed, and who pays for a second trip if the trailer cannot reach the spot?

Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333. Call before you sign, and ask for the answers in writing so the staging plan is part of the bid rather than a conversation held on the morning the trucks arrive.