Lake-effect snow is real in Sturgis
Sturgis is close enough to Lake Michigan that lake-effect snow is a normal part of winter, not an event. It falls heavy and wet, it piles up on low-slope sections, and it melts and refreezes at the eave more times than anyone counts. That is the ice-dam mechanism the whole Midwest deals with, with more water in it.
What that means on a roof: the eave detail matters more here than almost anywhere else we work. Self-adhered membrane run well past the interior wall line, and an attic that is not cooking the snow from below. Metal gives backed-up water no fastener heads or shingle edges to work under, but it does not fix a warm attic. If yours runs warm, I will say so.
Metal sheds snow, which is mostly good news and sometimes a hazard. Around the lakes, where decks and entries face the water, snow retention above anything you walk under belongs in the quote from the beginning.
The houses and the barns
St. Joseph County is lake homes, farms, and older homes in town. On a lake home with an open run of wind off the water, I would think about the seam before the color — a concealed-clip standing seam roof has no screw head exposed to weather, and that is worth more on a shoreline lot than on a sheltered street. On an older two-story in town with dormers and valleys, an interlocking metal shingle keeps the look and removes the nail heads that failed last time.
The barn and the machine shed already have screw-down panel, and that is the right roof for them. The washers under those screws age out around year ten to twelve. On the house, I steer people to concealed fasteners. We do not install exposed fastener below a 4/12 pitch.
Who should not call us from Sturgis
Anyone selling in a few years. Anyone with one bad detail on a sound roof — that is a repair, we do not take repair calls, and a repair contractor is the honest answer. Anyone who wants shingles again.
Michigan, and the drive
We are licensed and in good standing in Michigan. Our business identification number is 802491909. Sturgis is about an hour and a quarter from our Fort Wayne office. Michigan is not our home market, and a crew closer to the lake is a fair thing to want. The system and the transferable warranty are the same wherever we park.
“We also serve surrounding towns and rural communities throughout Northeast Indiana, Northwest Ohio, and Southern Michigan within roughly a 90-minute drive of our Fort Wayne and Noblesville offices.”
