Breaking Up Ice Dams On Roof

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams.

Breaking up ice dams on roof.

Ice accumulates along the eaves forming a dam. Ice dams inflict twofold damage on your home with both their weight and the backflow they create on the roof. Ice dams are the result of warm air reaching the roof and melting the snow touching the roof. Where the roof is cold the water starts to freeze and ice dams start to build along with the icicles you see dripping down from your roof.

If your home is prone to ice dams it s in your best interest to get ahead of them now before snowfall builds up and makes it impossible to counteract their negative effects. An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home. An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions. Gutters downspouts and eaves sag and crack under the frozen load and heavy sheets of ice break loose crashing down on windowsills sidewalks porches and people.

See below for a shopp. The trick is to get the shingles exposed to the sun. Just raking the first several feet of snow from the eaves is typically enough to prevent the formation of ice dams but in some cases this will cause ice dams to form higher up on the roof. First heat collects in the attic and warms the roof except at the eaves.

Once that happens the sun will warm the shingles enough to prevent ice from accumulating. If left to their own devices they can cause major water damage to your home can destroy gutter systems and can be costly to repair once spring finally shows up. Snow melts on the warm roof and then freezes on the cold eaves. It will put gutters and downspouts at risk too.

Here s a breakdown of the conditions that lead to the formation of ice dams. Ice dams are tricky pests that form as a result of poor ventilation or insulation in your roof. Ice dams are a common sight in northern new england winters and home partners has dealt with quite a few. As the snow turns to water it flows down the roof until it reaches the eaves where the roof is colder.

Use the home professional finder below for. Ice dams can also happen if your gutters were not properly cleaned out during the fall which can cause leaking and gutter damage as well. Meltwater from the warm roof backs up behind it flows under the shingles and into the house. Breaking an ice dam is usually done in conjunction with melting the ice in some fashion such as with the use of calcium chloride socks as described above or with roof steaming below.

Next snow melts on the warm roof and then freezes on the cold eaves. Get your free quote now.