Page 10
The INDEPENDENT, November 16, 2011
Tips given to protect property in winter
Help Murphy’s help Boys & Girls
by selling Christmas trees
Murphy’s Furniture is look-
ing for volunteers to work the
annual Christmas tree lot bene-
fiting the Boys and Girls club.
All shift times are available.
Murphy’s Furniture staffs the lot
Monday – Thursday. Looking
for volunteers for Friday
through Sunday. Shifts are
from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.,
1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 to
7:00 p.m.
The lot will be open seven
days a week, 10:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. in the parking lot of
Murphy’s furniture in Cornelius
on TV hwy. Tree sales will run
November 26 through Decem-
ber 12. Douglas, Grand and
If the last two years are any
indication of what is in store for
the upcoming season, this win-
ter will be a serious threat to
homes and businesses, ac-
cording to the Insurance Insti-
tute for Business & Home Safe-
ty (IBHS).
During both 2010 and 2011,
the U.S. received near record
amounts of snowfall, including
2011’s Groundhog Day Bliz-
zard, which caused $1.1 billion
in insured losses and more
than $2 billion in total losses,
according to the National Cli-
matic Data Center.
“Winter weather can inflict
substantial damage to your
home or business,” said Julie
Rochman, president & CEO of
IBHS. “Preparing now, while
cooler weather setting in re-
minds us that winter is coming,
but before freezing tempera-
tures arrive, will help you avoid
Noble Firs will start at $20.
Youth groups, Civic Clubs, Key
Clubs, families and individuals
– We need you all! Call Mur-
phy’s Furniture at (503) 640-
1124 or Email us at info@mur-
physfurniture.net
All – 100 percent – of the
proceeds go to the Inukai Fam-
ily Boys and Girls Club, which
serve hundreds of western
Washington County youth,
ages 6 thru 18. Last year over
300 trees were sold and it
would be great to do even
more this year! Even if you can
only work one shift, your partic-
ipation will make a difference!
70 th Annual Banks Union Point
Cemetery Dinner and Bazaar
Saturday, December 3rd
Holiday Bazaar 10 am to 7 pm
Turkey Dinner 12 pm to 7 pm
S TRASSEL ’ S A UTO R EPAIR
& H YDRAULIC H OSES
Adults $12 Seniors (65) $10
Children (5-12) $8 4 & under free
2-4-6 S PIRAL W IRE
S UCTION H OSES
A DAPTORS - 3/16” TO 2”
A MERICAN & M ETRIC F ITTINGS
B ULK O IL P RODUCTS
276 S UNSET , B ANKS
503-324-9808
Banks Elementary Cafeteria
42350 NW Trellis Way
RELIABLE DEPENDABLE
Introducing the Stihl BR 200, lightweight
backpack design ideal for big jobs
around the home.
The MS 250 A high power-to-weight
ratio makes this one of the best home-
owner chain saws on the market.
We have
Viking Caulks
in stock
Stihl BR 200
$
Backpack Blower
95
299
Stihl MS 250 Chain Saw
with 20” bar
$
399 95
Buy a Stihl Chain Saw and get a Stihl Carrying Case for Free*
*$39. 95 value .
PRECISION OUTD OOR
POWER EQUIPMENT
Banks Hardware
503-324-5221 • 150 N. Main St., Banks
• Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm
• Saturday 8am to 5pm
• Sunday 10am to 4pm
costly losses.”
IBHS’ Severe Winter Weath-
er page on www.DisasterSafe
ty.org provides guidance on
how to protect your home or
business against roof collapse
and other winter weather-relat-
ed perils.
Ice Dams – An ice dam is an
accumulation of ice at the low-
er edge of a sloped roof, usual-
ly at the gutter. When interior
heat melts the snow on the
roof, the water will run down
and refreeze at the roof’s edge,
where temperatures are much
cooler. The ice builds up and
blocks water from draining off
of the roof, forcing the water
under the roof covering and
into the attic or down the inside
walls of the house. Take the fol-
lowing steps to decrease the
likelihood that ice dams will
form:
• Keep the attic well-ventilat-
ed. The colder the attic, the
less melting and refreezing on
the roof.
• Keep the attic floor well-in-
sulated to minimize the amount
of heat rising through the attic
from within the house.
• As an extra precaution
against roof leaks in case ice
dams do form, when re-roofing
install an ice and water barrier
under your roof covering that
extends from the lowest edges
of all roof surfaces to a point at
least 24 inches inside the exte-
rior wall line of the building.
Frozen Pipes – Frozen wa-
ter in pipes can cause water
pressure buildup between the
ice blockage and the closed
faucet at the end of a pipe,
which leads to pipes bursting at
their weakest point. Pipes in at-
tics, crawl spaces and outside
walls are particularly vulnera-
ble to freezing in extremely
cold weather. Frozen pipes can
also occur when pipes are near
openings in the outside wall of
a building, including where tel-
evision, cable or telephone
lines enter the structure. To
keep water in pipes from freez-
ing, take the following steps:
• Fit exposed pipes with in-
sulation sleeves or wrapping to
slow the heat transfer. The
more insulation the better.
• Seal cracks and holes in
outside walls and foundations
near water pipes with caulking.
• Keep cabinet doors open
during cold spells to allow
warm air to circulate around
pipes (particularly in the
kitchen and bathroom).
• Keep a slow drip of water
flowing through faucets con-
nected to pipes that run
through an unheated or unpro-
tected space.
• Drain the water system, es-
pecially if your building will be
unattended during cold peri-
ods.
Is Your Roof Strong
Enough? Building age is a ma-
jor factor in how much snow a
roof can handle. Newer build-
ing codes provide much better
guidance for estimating snow
loads, particularly the in-
creased loads near changes in
roof elevations where snow
drifts and snow falling from an
upper roof can build up on the
lower roof near the step. For
flat roofs, the step-down area
between roof sections is partic-
ularly susceptible to snow over-
load because of the tendency
for ice and snow collection, es-
pecially during periods of windy
weather.
Older roofs can suffer from
corrosion of members and con-
nections, which can reduce its
ability to resist high snow
loads. Buildings with light-
weight roofs, such as metal
buildings or built- up roofs on
bar joists, generally provide
less protection from overload
than heavy roofs.
Rooftop equipment and roof
projections, such as mechani-
cal equipment that is over 2
feet tall, causes snow accumu-
lation due to drift, creating the
need for higher snow load con-
See Winter on page 11