Affordable Residential and Commercial Roofing Company In Cincinnati

Ice Dams – What They Are, How to Prevent Them and How to Fix Them

ice dam hanging from gutters

Here’s a common question Cincinnati roofing companies get during the cold weather:

“What Are Ice Dams?”

An ice dam occurs when there is a frozen layer of ice that traps snow in place. The snow and ice are not a problem when they remain frozen, unless it is overloading the roof of your home or business. The problem occurs when areas are able to get above freezing, turning into dammed water. The water is held in place by the ice dam, and it may not be noticed because it is covered by an outer layer of snow and ice. Worse yet, it can’t drain away or evaporate. All it can do is sit beside the exterior of your home. Ice dams can cause damage to your Cincinnati home’s roof, walls and structural elements of the home.

Ice dams normally form when the snow on the top of the roof melts, runs down to the eaves, and freezes into ice. The melted ice can soak into the roof sheath, while the freezing process does damage to the material. Eventually, it will seep into the attic and drywall, damaging your home’s basic structure. At the same time, the cold moisture reduces the effectiveness of your insulation and can foster mold growth.

How Can You Prevent Ice Dams?

Ice dams on your home’s roof can be caused by poor attic ventilation, poor roof ventilation plus a warm attic, clogged drains, or poorly draining gutters. Improving the drainage from your roof can help prevent this problem. This could be done by putting a wide metal drip edge on the bottom three feet of your roof.

One way to fix ice dams is to better insulate your roof so that enough heat to melt the ice doesn’t escape. Removing heat sources from the attic like overheated HVAC motors can work.

Another approach is increasing the ventilation in the attic and roof so that it remains freezing cold; if it isn’t hot enough to melt the ice, there’s no water to dam in place. This can be done by ventilation at the roof ridge or with specially installed roof ventilators. The goal here is to keep the roof deck as cold as possible.

Putting a lot more insulation in the attic of your home will help keep your living spaces warm while preventing heat from melting ice on the roof, though this won’t do anything to repair roof damage if it has already occurred.

Regularly clearing your drains and gutters improves drainage, though to prevent ice dams, you need to do this with warm water or warmed extensions in the winter as well as when leaves are piling up. You could clear away heavy snow with a roof rake (we do not advise you do this due to safety concerns) to prevent ice dams from occurring, because you’ve removed the ice that could melt and act as protective insulation for the melt water. Note that this should be done while standing on the ground – don’t stand on the roof to try clear the bottom four feet of snow.

Here’s a great resource on ice dam prevention.

How Can You Fix Ice Dams When They Occur?

If there has been light snow, heat tape could melt the ice dam. However, if you have heavy snow, heat tape will simply cause the ice dam to move further up the roof where it is harder to fix. And if your gutters are full of leaves or frozen solid, such that the melt water can’t drain away, heat tape will actually make the problem worse.

Another tactic is to apply ice melt products. If you have an ice dam forming, these products will help melt the ice. Again, it only works if you have good drainage, so clear the gutters and drains before melting the ice. Note that this process should not involve rock salt. That will damage your paint, the metal and any plants where the salt water drains.

Depending on the situation, you may need to resort to professional ice dam removal. They often use low pressure steamers to melt the snow and ice and push it away. Do not use a high pressure power washer to do this, since that can damage your shingles. If you want to clear an ice dam yourself, you can break it free in small chunks. Don’t use a sharp tool, because it could cut through the shingles. That gives water an easier route into the house, accelerating the water damage. Use a mallet instead. If you don’t know where the ice dam is or don’t want to get up on the roof, many roofing contractors offer this type of service during the winter.

Ice Dam Roofing Specialists

Preventing ice dams before they happen is the key. This may mean ensuring you roof, insulation, gutters and other exterior components of your Cincinnati home are working properly. Thus, we highly recommend you keep your roof and gutters in good working order (and maintained regularly). Please contact us if you would like a FREE ROOF INSPECTION so that we can determine if you are in good shape for the winter cold, and summer rains that we see in our area.

Roofing Contractors Are Always Doing It, So Can I Stand on my Roof?

This question is posed often online. Is it okay to sit on my roof? Can the roof withstand my weight? The answers – generally given by non-experts – usually involve mention that “if the roof can take the weight of the roofing contractors, can’t it take mine?” Truth be told, you should not make a practice of walking on your roof. Not only is there the obvious danger of falling, but you could damage the roof structure. And while it is true that your roof can hold the weight of a heavy snowfall, that snow’s weight is distributed across the roof’s surface. When an individual person walks or sits on a roof, that 150-200 pounds of weight is concentrated – is it far more pressure on an individual spot. As tempting as it may be, your roof is not the best place to watch the sunset.

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