Those icicles hanging from the roof of your mountain vacation home are picturesque, but they could be an indication of an underlying ice dam problem that can cause expensive damage!
What is an ice dam you say? An ice dam occurs when the warmth from the dwelling areas of your home escapes into the attic and melts snow on the roof. The melted snow (aka: water) runs downhill until it reaches the eaves (which are usually not as warm) and freezes into solid ice. This is what makes those beautiful icicles (which are a dead give-away that you may have an ice dam problem). A few days of this and your roof has built up a dam of ice that holds the melted snow behind it. So what’s the problem with this, you say. The problem is that most roofs are made to shed water, not hold it. When water sits on your roof, it will probably find a way into your house, causing damages ranging from peeling paint to serious mold issues. And this doesn’t even include the potential damage to your roof when the ice dam is chopped out by that helpful and handy neighbor!
Building codes in cold climate areas usually attempt to address this problem by requiring special roofing membrane materials at and above the eaves of your house. This is good, and only part of the solution, which includes other items such as effective insulation strategy.
Return to this site for future blogs on useful and related information about this subject, including insulation, roof design, roof repair, roof membrane, roof maintenance, rain gutters, heat tape, wall repair, mold problems, and more.
Licensed Home Improvement can take care of ice dam issues for you, from preventative construction and maintenance, to correcting the damage after it happens. For a free consultation call us at (800) 926-0409.
Licensed Home Improvement is licensed by the California State License Board, General Contractor License No. B592420.
- Damage could be hiding under those beautiful icicles!
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