Ice Dam Prevention (What You Need to Know)

We’re creeping up on Fall which means Winter will shortly follow. When you start to see those beautiful icicles hanging from your gutters, it may be something that you want to investigate.

Icicles hanging may indicate that you have ice dams forming. These are thick, icy buildup around the gutters of your home which can cause some substantial damage to your home.

There is a lot that you can do in this season for ice dam prevention.

But first, we need to understand how they happen.

What Make Ice Dams Form On Your Roof

Ice dams occur during the Winter season as a result of freezing weather and oncoming snow. If there is debris or buildup in your gutter system (think downspouts) then it can trap water from draining.

As such, this melting water can pool and continue to accumulate more snow melt. Another reason is warm air can get trapped in your attic which melts the snow sitting on a roof. That melted snow trickles down to these gathering points and worsens the problem.

When this ice melts during the day and re-freezes at night, it will expand and contract which starts to damage your roofing components. It can start to compromise all roofing parts and eventually make its way underneath your shingles, into your home.

How Can You Prevent Ice Dams?

1. Keep Gutters Clean and Properly Pitched– Remove any debris or obstruction from your gutters so they’ll work properly. Making sure that they’re pitched properly, again, directs the proper flow of water down your roof.
2. Check for Proper Attic Insulation– Remember that your attic should be the same temperature as the outside. When this is not the case, warm air can escape into the attic (and thus melting the snow on the roof). A professional insulation company can help determine if it needs
3. Check for Exterior Ventilation– Check that there are no obstructions on the vents in the soffits and on the roof. When all these are properly working, the airflow and temperature in the attic can remain uniform.
4. Confirm You Have an Ice and Water Shield– In 2009, the city of Omaha made it code to install an ice and water shield on all new homes. This is the underlayment between the decking and shingles which helps protect against water seeping into your home. Sometimes a roofer can lift up shingles on the edge of a roof to see if it’s there. If not, we highly encourage that you ensure your next roofers adds it to your home.

What to do if there are existing Ice Dams?

If it’s Winter already and you already have ice dam buildup, don’t worry! Even thought many of the preventative measures can’t be addressed during this cold weather, there are still things you can do.

1. Install Heat Strips- These are exactly as they sound. Heated strips you can install along the edge of your roof that plugin to an outlet to melt the ice. A professional electrician or some roofers can help with this.
2. Hire a Company to Melt It– If you’re at the tail end of winter and you don’t want to pay to install heat strips, you can always hire a company to manually melt the ice dam. You’ll need to call around at several roofing contractors as few offer this as a service.

Summary

The good news is that a reputable roofer can detect any of these issues before ice arrives. If you’d like a FREE inspection to prepare for Winter weather please call us at (402) 889-3381. We would be happy to check for any areas of concern on your roof and remedy any issues.