A Neighborhood That Knows the Weight of Snow
By the time February fades into March here in Edina, you can almost hear the roofs exhale. The icicles get shorter, the snowbanks recede, and the sharp crack of shifting shingles echoes here and there as the thaw sets in. It’s subtle, but it’s there. The houses know the seasons, and so do we.
I’ve lived in Edina long enough to tell you which blocks keep their snow cover through April and which ones start shedding by St. Patrick’s Day. Along France Avenue, you’ll see steep-pitched roofs that handle ice like pros, while over by Arneson Acres, some of the older ranch-style homes still carry the battle scars from past winters — a missing shingle here, a bit of sag there.
It’s not that folks here neglect their homes. Quite the opposite. We just tend to take our time. Winter doesn’t ask politely in Minnesota. It pushes, freezes, melts, then freezes again — and in places like Edina, where trees stand tall and the snow is rarely light, that cycle puts a quiet but constant strain on every rooftop in town.
You Don’t Always See the Damage Right Away
That’s the tricky part. The snow melts, the sun comes out, and everything feels just fine. But one gusty night in early spring and suddenly the attic’s colder than it should be. Or you notice water marks on a second-story ceiling that weren’t there in December. Most of us chalk it up to “old house stuff.” But more often than not, it’s the roof speaking first.
Ask any seasoned roofing contractor in Edina, and they’ll tell you: winter roof damage tends to hide. Until it doesn’t. It’s not about dramatic leaks or cave-ins. It’s the slow kind — where time and temperature pull just enough at flashing, where ice dams settle in one season and leave their mark in the next. And in a town like ours, where so many roofs were built 20 or 30 years ago, that aging shows up all at once.
Each Neighborhood Tells a Story
Drive through Morningside after a late snow and you’ll see homes where the snow still clings evenly across the roof. That’s usually a good sign — insulation doing its job, a roof still holding strong. But then, a few blocks away, you’ll find homes with bare patches and heavy icicles trailing down from the eaves. That’s the sign of uneven heat loss — often a clue that something’s shifted beneath the shingles.
It’s not always dramatic. Sometimes it’s just a matter of age. Other times it’s a result of the kind of winter we’ve had — lots of heavy snow early, then midseason melt, followed by an ice storm or two. It’s the kind of roof year that doesn’t make headlines but quietly takes its toll.
In Edina, We Fix Things Properly — Eventually
There’s a rhythm to how we do home care here. It’s not always fast, but it’s rarely careless. We notice things in April, think about them in May, and act on them by July. There’s no panic. Just intention.
When people talk about getting a new roof in Edina, it’s often framed around keeping the house in good shape for the long haul — not just patching leaks. It’s about the kind of pride that doesn’t need to be flashy, just solid. We like things to work. We like things to last. And we know that in a place like this, a roof that can handle a Minnesota winter isn’t optional. It’s foundational.
More Than Just Shelter
I always find it funny how much you notice when the snow starts to melt. You start to see which homes got a fresh roof last year — darker shingles, even lines, better runoff. And which ones are probably due for a roof inspection this spring, just to be safe. Not out of panic. Just routine. Like getting your tires checked before a road trip.
In Edina, we don’t talk about our roofs much. But we watch them. We respect them. And when the time comes, we replace them — not because we’re told to, but because we know better than to ignore what the seasons slowly show us.
After all, the roof is the one part of the house that sees everything — the snow, the sun, the wind, the years. And if you listen closely, it usually tells you when it’s ready to be replaced.
And if your roof’s been on your mind lately — maybe it’s time to get a second opinion. You can always get a free quote from someone local. No pressure, just peace of mind.