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No, you should not close or cover your gable vents in the winter. While it might seem logical to block cold air, heating your home creates hot air that rises and can cause condensation in the attic. If the vents are covered, this moisture becomes trapped, creating an ideal environment for mold and mildew. Keeping the gable vents open ensures proper ventilation, which helps dry out the attic, maintain even temperatures, and prevent moisture-related damage.

A standard roof can hold a live load of about 20 pounds per square foot. However, gable roofs often have steeper-than-average slopes, so calculating their weight capacity can be challenging. If the slope of your gable roof is greater than 4:12, the live load needs to be decreased to allow for a larger dead load. Ask your roofer exactly how much weight your roof can support.

While you technically can add a roof over shakes or shingles, it’s not a good idea. Roofing over existing roofing creates a moisture barrier underneath the new roof and since the trapped material is wood, you can expect a moisture problem. While you could get away with installing a new roof over asphalt or steel, wooden roofs should be removed, new underlayment installed, and the new roof installed over that. Also, the extra weight would add strain to your roof structure.

There should be small gaps between your roof and the walls of your home, and other buildings. These small gaps let building materials shift, expand, and contract with weather and other outside forces, and they prevent moisture from wicking down walls from roofing and gutter systems. Without these strategic gaps, your home’s exterior and its finishes can sustain water damage, decay, peel, delaminate, and crack. However, there is a fine line between a smart gap and a problematic gap—all  gaps should be small, intentional, and covered or filled in with foam insulation to prevent pests from using them as access points.