‘Prevention is key’: How to prepare your home ahead of the snow thaw

With Edmonton's weather set to warm up in coming days, CTV News Edmonton's Gates Guarin looks at the issues the quick thaw could cause for homeowners.

In December, Edmonton saw the most snow it has seen in 25 years.

Now, with central Alberta headed into positive temperatures in the next week or so, the city is preparing for quite the thaw.

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“Being a winter climate, we’re pretty used to that freeze-thaw, and it does put some utilities under stress,” said Angus Grant, senior manager at EPCOR. “We stand ready to respond and make sure that our crews are responding to both the flooding as well as water issues to investigative and repair when it’s required.”

Homeowners can take certain precautions to prevent water damage by removing snow away from the house and to clear snow off of the roof and window coverings.

“Preparation and prevention is key,” said Grant.

Pherne Angibeau with PJ Roofing said he’s been seeing a lot of homeowners experience issues with condensation.

“People have a lot of moisture building up inside their attic space because of condensation,” Angibeau told CTV News Edmonton. “What we see very often is poor ventilation, and with the amount of snow that we had in the last few weeks, it has been a pretty big challenge for a lot of homeowners where they had their ventilation plugged by snow.”

What Angibeau does for clients to prevent this is clear snow off of rooftops. They also offer a permanent solution called Dura Flow Pro Turbo that prevents snow build up around vents.

When snow is left on roofs and clogging vents, Angibeau said the biggest concern is mould.

“If the attic space is experiencing any sort of condensation and excessive moisture, all that moisture will end up on the drywall,” he explained. “Through the course of just two or three years, you can start experiencing mould in the house, and it’s unhealthy.”

He recommends checking, or getting a professional to check your attic every six months to see if there is any moisture buildup and to keep an eye on ceilings for water stains.

With the sudden drop in weather, Angibeau is expecting a very busy week ahead.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Gates Guarin and Josh Classen