According to the Met Office, winter officially begins on December 1st, but late November has already brought the most wintry of conditions, especially across the northern half of Britain.

That means many households in Stockport with flat roofs could soon be noticing some damage caused by the frigid conditions, which will require repairs as soon as possible.

There are various ways in which snow and ice can damage a flat roof. The most obvious of these is if you have any small cracks to start with. Because water expands as it gets near to freezing point and below, any moisture that freezes will prise these open wider. That will make your roof increasingly prone to leaks, especially when lots of snow and ice on it thaw.

Similarly, flashing and gutters can also be damaged by ice dams, which form when ice starts to melt but then re-freezes as temperatures drop again.

A further problem can occur when there is a lot of snow, as the sheer weight of this can bear down on the roof and cause it to sag, weakening the structure and pressing it out of shape.

Of course, there are steps you can take to ease the problem. If you can get up to the roof and clear heavy snow off it, that can help to get the weight off. In addition, you can put salt or grit on the roof to melt the snow and ice so it cannot cause damage through the freeze-thaw process.

However, even with a lot of effort, you may find you suffer some damage to your roof. If you do, it is important to get this fixed as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the sunny days of spring arrive, because by then the damage could have got far worse. Instead, act fast and