Ice damming is something every homeowner wants to avoid because it can cause various types of damage to your roof and home.
Ice dams can form when heat loss occurs through the roof, melting the snow and causing water to flow toward the eave overhang (which can be VERY cold in winter months), where it freezes. When this happens, over and over, ice builds up on eaves and gutters creating a dam. The most common physical sign of ice damming is icicles hanging off your gutters.
The reason this is bad for your roof and home is the fact that ice damming can prevent your gutters and drains from effectively doing their job (or can prevent proper water drainage all together). This can cause issues like shingle and gutter damage, attic and insulation damage, rotted sheathing and decking, and more.
In this article we’ll share some of the ways to prevent this from happening. Before we begin, it’s important to note that unless you have solid experience with the following tasks, it’s always best to hire a professional to take care of the job to ensure it is done to code, and has a positive effect on your roofing system.
ICE DAM PREVENTION
In order to stop ice dams from occurring, your roofing system needs to keep your roof the same temperature as the eaves. This is accomplished by a handful of things, including:
1. Making Sure Attic Ventilation is Sufficient
Continuous soffit vents, coupled with a ridge vent, do a great job of circulating cold air under the entire roof. In doing so, the desired effect of flushing warm air OUT during the winter months is accomplished. That said, it’s important to note that soffit and ridge vents need to have the same sized openings — and have at least a one sq. ft. opening (per each 300 sq. ft.) of attic floor.
2. Examining Your Exhaust
Make a thorough inspection of the ducts connected to your dryer, kitchen and bathroom vents to ensure that they lead outdoors through the walls or roof — but never through the soffit. It’s important to note that there is a possibility that exhaust systems may sometimes need to be extended, or even moved if they sit in an area that catches high snow fall.
3. Preventing Air Leaks
Sealing off any and all air leaks, which can cause warm air to escape and heat up a roof’s underside, is a critical component to preventing ice damming. To accomplish this task, you’ll need to check any places where warm or hot air can potentially escape into your attic. This includes vent pipes, exhaust fans, chimneys, light fixtures and attic hatches. If you find a leak, it will need to be insulated or caulked. One easy way to detect air leaks in these areas is the “damp hand test.” Simply make your way into the attic, and check the pipes, exhaust fans, light fixtures, etc. with a damp hand to see if you detect any drafts.
4. Insulating Your Attic
Make sure your attic is properly insulated to help prevent ice damming. Overall, we recommend an insulation value of R-40, so whether you are doing the work yourself or having a professional do the job, make sure you’re having the proper insulation value installed. In addition, you’ll also want to check the quality of the seal of your attic hatch access and whole-house fan louver vent opening (if your home has one). On that note, insulating solutions can also include weatherstripping caps (the foil-faced foam board kind).
GET IN TOUCH
If you have questions about your roofing, or are in need of roof repair, feel free to contact us anytime. We’d be happy to speak with you, and even stop by for a complimentary roof inspection — any time of the year — upon request.