Regina restoration, roofing companies busy as snow melts during mid-winter thaw

Homeowners are dealing with basement seepage, ice dams on roofs and cracked pipes as parts of Saskatchewan see above-freezing temperatures in the middle of winter.

Mike Payne, a project manager with Restorex Disaster Restoration, said the freeze-thaw cycle is causing issues in Regina basements.

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“What we’re seeing this year is kind of a perfect storm,” Payne said during an appearance on The Greg Morgan Morning Show on 980 CJME.

“We’re getting a quick melt, and everybody has a ton of snow against their foundations. With that quick melt, we’re going to see this water running and, unfortunately, where the water runs is typically into your basement.”

He said his company has been dealing with many calls about basement seepage over the past few days, and expects the trend will continue for the next couple of weeks.

Payne explained that water can get into basements through window wells if there is a lot of snow, but moisture most commonly get inside through the foundations of the home.

“The water just runs along the outside of your foundation. It finds the way in, and then you’ll have the slowly seeping issues of it coming into your basement,” he said.

Payne said homeowners can see the early warning signs of a water issue in your home by keeping a close eye on their baseboards and flooring.

“If you start feeling water, obviously you’re having a seepage issue. If, on your baseboards, you can really start seeing some staining occurring, or they start swelling because they absorb the water. Those are your first indicators of when you might see a water issue in your home,” he said.

Payne said mold can start growing within 24 to 48 hours after water starts to enter a home.

“You will see that happening fast,” said Payne.

“If you pop your baseboards off, it’ll kind of look like freckles behind your baseboards.”

He said there are a few things homeowners can do to prevent water seepage in their basements, including shoveling snow away from the foundation of the home, ensure sump pumps are working and that there is good egress to get water out of the basement through the sump.

Ice dams on roofs

Henry Greenberg, owner of Guardian Roofing & Exteriors, said ice damming happens on everyone’s roof at least once due to the climate in Saskatchewan. With the current freeze-thaw cycle, he said his company has been getting plenty of calls.

“You’re going to start seeing a nice big pile of snow-covered ice at your eaves edge, and it’s going to start at the bottom foot and it’s going to work its way up,” he explained.

Greenberg said that means water is coming into the cold eaves after moving across the attic, and starts to freeze again.

“That freezing starts in the eaves and then it starts to work its way underneath the shingles, and as the ice damming gets bigger and as it gets worse, those shingles are going to start to lift,” he said. “They’re going to start to peel back and they’re going to start to crack.”

He said there are consequences for those who neglect recurring ice dams over the long term.

“You could rot out your roof deck,” he said. “Mold could start growing inside of your attic space. You could have damaged drywall, damaged ceiling, damaged paint. The exterior walls of your house could start experiencing some wood rot. You can experience damaged shingles. A plethora of things could happen on the interior, just based on some water infiltration.”

Greenberg said it’s important to clear out downspouts before winter hits, and if too much snow builds up on the roof, he advised calling an expert.

Cracked pipes

Rob Benoit, with Cameo Restoration, said the company is expecting an influx of calls relating to flooding and cracked pipes because of the above-freezing temperatures in the middle of winter.

“Whenever we get these swings, if there’s a pipe issue, this is when it occurs,” he said.

Benoit said when pipes freeze outside, it doesn’t typically become an issue until it warms up.

“When a pipe is frozen, like a water line to the exterior in a vestibule at a public building, it’s not going to do anything,” he said. “However, when it starts to warm up the ice expands, splits, and that’s what causes the water damage.”

He said a lot of homeowners will likely discover issues with pipes as the temperatures rise above freesing.

“With regards to a broken pipe, you’re not going to find out you have one until the ice melts, or until it actually melts and splits,” Benoit said.

Benoit said there are a few things homeowners can check to determine if they have a cracked pipe.

“Take a good look. Maybe your outside water line, you thought you’d shut off but it was left on a crack,” he said. “Take a really good look around your utility room. See if there’s any pipes sweating really badly. That’s going to be an indicator as well.”

Benoit encouraged homeowners to keep an eye on their utility rooms and check to ensure their sump pumps are working.

Regina crews busy as temperatures warm

A quick transition from cold winter weather to an early February thaw means a pivot and new priorities for the City of Regina’s road crews.

“As part of any winter season, we experience many different conditions,” explained Chris Warren, Regina’s director of roadways and transportation.

City of Regina crews work to remove snow on Saskatchewan Drive. (Geoff Smith/980 CJME)

“You think back to the weekend. We had cold, freezing rain and high winds, and with the warming temperatures we’ve had to switch gears and adjust our strategies a little bit.”

He said workers are busy plowing roads, opening up catch basins and storm drains in areas where water is pooling, and doing “a little bit of snow removal and snow plowing” on roads and sidewalks.

Warren said the city appreciates when residents contribute to the efforts by clearing blocked catch basins in their neighbourhoods, or alerting the city about the issue.

He said city crews are also working on snow piles that have begun to slump onto roadways as they melt, adding that they try to schedule the work outside of busy traffic hours.

“We do have crews scheduled, both night and days, seven days a week, throughout the entire winter,” he said.

“We definitely try to get a lot of that work done on the night shift, but we also recognize that there are some periods of time during the day, during those non peak times, that we can do some of this work as well.”

–with files from 980 CJME’s Geoff Smith