Advice from Contractors:

Preparing Your Construction Project for Winter

By Phil Coggeshall

Being based in York, Pennsylvania, my contracting firm is smack-dab in the middle of the mid-Atlantic region. Our winter weather becomes challenging from mid-November through the end of March. As contractors—and homeowners—we have been conditioned to anticipate the changing temperature and weather conditions and look ahead to complete exterior projects (or at least get them under roof) before the harsh weather sets in.

There are many typical job site challenges that confront us during the winter months:
• Excavation of foundation and footers, laying block, and backfilling must be done before the ground freezes.
• Framing, sheathing, and setting of roof trusses and roof decking needs to be done in good time. We want to get everything under a roof to prevent freezing rain and snow from getting in.
• Installing shingles in cold weather is challenging; they become brittle and more time consuming to install. Ideally, shingles should be installed early enough so they'll seal themselves during sunny, warm days. Often, shingles installed during cold weather do not seal properly. These shingles can blow off during very windy days.
• Windows and entrance doors need to be installed as soon as possible to keep out the elements.
• Temporary heat may be required to provide comfortable working conditions inside. Torpedo or salamander heaters are most commonly used. Both require the use of kerosene fuel.
• Temporary curtain walls are often used to provide winter protection. This is common where scaffold setups are necessary.

Winter weather can also cause a host of other, less obvious challenges:
• Down time increases. Employees or our subs are often sick with flus and colds. We may not have a full work crew showing up, or want them to—an employee fighting a bad cold is not as productive as one who's feeling fine.
• Getting to work can be difficult. We may not get to work because we—or you—are snowed in or late because they just plowed our—or your—road. Sometimes there are school closings that require a parent to stay home. Most contractors I know share the responsibility to stay home with their child.
• Productivity is reduced when it is cold. People tend to take more breaks, drink more coffee, eat more doughnuts, stop to warm up more often.
• It can be very challenging to keep your employees and yourselves on a regular schedule. Since the weather can cause many delays or even job shutdowns, scheduling subs, materials deliveries, and the like can be a big problem.

We do what we can to get around as many of the routine problems as possible by planning ahead. We often send flyers or brochures to our customers in September. We remind them of the items to be concerned about in the coming months so they—and we—can avoid making costly repairs during the worst weather. Here's our list of winter-prepping items to consider:
• Check to see that your furnace is in working condition.
• Insulate! Often, customers will consider installing additional insulation to their homes around this time of the year.
• Check to see that your weatherstripping is in good condition on doors and windows.
• Shut off all outside faucets and drain the lines.
• Clean gutters and downspouts of leaves and other debris.
• Have a structural check done on your roof. We have had a couple of winters where so much ice and snow has accumulated on roofs that trusses, rafters, beams, and decking were put to the test. Some structures collapsed. Other structures may have incurred damage that the homeowner doesn't yet know about.

We try to line up certain kinds of jobs during the winter months. Some are obvious; we do bathrooms, kitchens, basement renovations, painting, and any other carpentry work, so long as it's indoors. Unfortunately, a good part of our time is spent doing emergency work: dealing with siding or shingles that have blown off, ice dams that are causing leaks, and downspouts or gutters that have pulled loose because of ice.

We also end up doing some insurance work. We find that there are more fires during the winter, almost always due to furnace failures. Insurance companies often use us for restoration work related to these problems. Surprisingly, we also do a good deal of relocation work. Often, an executive is transferred to another city quite suddenly, and the house he or she was living in needs work done. The realtors who manage relocation programs for companies usually want the work to be done immediately so that the house can be sold or rented.

Back to Main Page

 Email this page to a friend