Roof Ice Dam Problems

An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home.

Roof ice dam problems.

What causes ice dams. Ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge. If you have an ice dam forming you can apply calcium chloride or similar. Use a roof rake after heavy snowfalls.

As the heat escapes it melts snow and ice on your roof. It will put gutters and downspouts at risk too. This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing. The dam grows as it is fed by the melting snow above it but it will limit itself to the portions of the roof that average below 32f.

The next step is to bring up your level of the attic floor insulation to a level. Ice dams appear quickly after a heavy snow because of the insulating properties. The resulting damage from ice dams to the roof and the rest of the house can easily cost thousands of dollars especially if the snow is allowed to remain on the affected roof for a long time. The water runs along the roof and under the snow refreezing as it reaches your roof s cold overhang.

Ice dams are a common sight in northern new england winters and home partners has dealt with quite a few. Solving an ice dam problem with exterior rigid foam eight inches of polyiso a second layer of roof sheathing and new shingles cost the same as a standing seam roof without any insulation by pauline guntlow march 6 2018 we stopped our ice dam problems by installing 8 inches of rigid foam insulation above the existing roof sheathing. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. Homeowners know that unsightly ice dams are what often follows a major snowstorm and onset of low temperatures.

Insulating your attic space. An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions. Ice dams are caused by heat escaping through your roof during the winter. The snow on a roof surface that is above freezing will melt.

Although climbing onto the roof is. Use calcium chloride or an ice melt product. Fast fixes for ice dam removal blow in cold air. Sealing air leaks leading into the attic space.

A rake with wheels. This causes the ice dam. Locating and properly insulating all the little pathways through. Pull off snow with a long handled aluminum roof rake while you stand safely on the ground.

Chip off the ice. See below for a shopp. This scenario is often the result of a warm attic.