last updated 24 June 2023

See also: Snow on Roofs
2023 Tahoe Snow

A common problem with composition shingle roof in the Sierra Nevada is the bottom row or 2 of shingles being pulled off in the snow.
The most common solution seems to be just having flashing at the bottom of the roof.


In previous years only the shingles which came to the bottom of the roof came off. The new section with several inches of flashing at the bottom were OK, but in the record snow of 2022-23 even this section lost shingles.


Response to queries on nextdoor in the Homewood/Tahoma area:

Russell Poulsen Olympic Valley
ยท The key, no matter what type of shingle is to use metal at the end. The metal should extend about a foot above the intersection of the wall and the roof, which is the origin of most ice dams.

Wilson Contractor - Bear Creek
Hi Don, We at Mr Honey Do are making these exact repairs! Heat tape is a must in this area. There are a few different applications that can be installed. The best is to convert the lower two-three shingle areas to metal and install the heat tape underneath the metl so it doesnt get torn off by heavy snow.

Tahoma


I drove around Homewood Chamberlands and Tahoma and looked at about 50 homes in March 2023.
Most didn't have anything and were OK.
A half a dozen had missing shingles like ours.
A dozen had flashing or metal roofing on the bottom 2 feet.

Gray's roof next door

It looks like they added some kind of plates
It worked.

I saw 1 Snow gard
They are primairly to either stop snow from coming down or break or break it up so people underneath don't get injured. See Wikipedia.

and 1 with Heat tape.
Issues:


Some other suggestions:
Install ice and water shield. Ice and water shield is a sheet of material that is installed under your shingles to help protect your roof from the elements. It can help to prevent ice dams and snow buildup, which can reduce the risk of shingles coming off.
Note: This is primarily to keep water that gets under shingles doing damage.