Ice Hanging From Your Roof

Close up attic bypasses.

Ice hanging from your roof.

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms along the edge of your roof. Ice dams will start to damage your ceilings and walls. Icicles have to attach somewhere on your roof which means there s more ice up there. Use a box fan to blow cold air at any leaky spots in the roof.

See below for a shopp. Ice damming on the roof is caused by a poorly ventilated and poorly insulated attic in heavy snow fall situations during very cold weather. When snow accumulates on a rooftop an unevenly heated attic can melt pockets of snow high on. This happens when warm air inside your home melts snow on the roof which then refreezes as it reaches the unheated colder eaves when temperatures drop.

After a snowfall a cold roof will have a thick blanket of snow. That s because the same conditions that allow icicles to form snow covered roofs and freezing weather also lead to ice dams. Gutters will continue to be overwhelmed by melting snow from the roof which will cause a thicker layer of ice to form above the gutter edge and icicles will grow in size. To keep your roof cold follow these three steps.

A warmer roof however will soon have clear spots where the snow has melted off and may well have icicles hanging from the eaves. Leaks due to ice damming occur usually after a considerable ice dam has formed and the temperatures warm up creating a large pool of water behind the ice. The key to preventing ice dams is simply to keep your attic and roof cold. If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position.

If the icicles hanging off your roof are an inch or longer you probably have an ice dam on your hands. The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. Check for leaks underneath roof shingles and insulation. Icicles hanging along the eaves of your house may look beautiful but they spell trouble.

Drips coming in through. But if you see icicles hanging from the edge of your roof it may be a sign of an ice dam. How to prevent roof ice build up method 1 of 3. Thick ridges of solid ice that build up along the eaves.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. Start by climbing into the. Remove the snow from your overhangs at the very least. Small icicles along the edge of your roof.