While they might look attractive hanging from the edges of a roof in winter, icicles can actually be a sign of something much more unpleasant and potentially harmful, to come: ice dams. These ridges of solid ice known as ice dams, form during snowy, freezing weather, and are often very thick. Forming along the eaves of a roof, they are more than capable of tearing off gutters, loosening shingles, and causing water to back up and start permeating your home.
To help prevent ice dams from ruining your roof and costing you hundreds of dollars in repairs, here are some tips for preventing them, safely removing them, and making long-term repairs. But firstly, let’s look at what makes ice dams so potentially hazardous for your home:
Why are ice dams so bad for a roof?
As mentioned above, ice dams that are left to build up can soon start to damage gutters and shingles, and can even cause water to penetrate your home and cause warped floors, sagging ceilings and plenty of unsightly stains and peeling paintwork. It can also affect the insulation in the attic, causing it to become soggy and lose its R-value, while encouraging mold and mildew to form.
How can you prevent ice dams from ruining your home?
The best and most effective way to rid your home of ice dams for good, is to try your best to keep the whole roof at the same temperature as the eaves. This can be achieved by increasing the ventilation in your home, adding insulation, and sealing any potential air leaks that could allow warm air to heat up the roof from beneath.
Here are some of these preventative measures in a little more detail:
- Ventilate the eaves and ridge
Helping to circulate col air around the entire underside of the roof, ridge vents coupled with continuous soffit vents can be incredibly advantageous, and help put pay to ice dams for good. Just ensure that the ridge and soffit vents have openings that are the same size, and that they provide a minimum of 1 square feet of opening for every 300 square feet of the floor of the attic. To keep a consistently clear path for the soffit vents airflow, place baffles at the eaves.
- Cap the hatch
Openings in a home whereby heat can escape, such as an attic hatch that’s unsealed or a whole-house fan, should ideally be covered with weather-stripped caps that are composed of foil-faced foam board, and held together using aluminium tape.
- Pay attention to all ducts
It’s important that all ducts connected to bathrooms, dryer vents and the kitchen, lead outside by means of the roof or walls, and never through the soffit.
- Add extra insulation
To keep heat where it belongs, add insulation to the floor of the attic, and to know how much insulation your home needs, you can consult with your local building department.
- Install sealed can lights
If you’ve got old-fashioned recessed lights in your home, these typically give off a lot of heat and are hard to insulate without turning them into a potential fire hazard. Talk to a local contractor about replacing them with sealed IC fixtures, and then having them covered over with insulation.
- Use steel flashing around chimneys
The gap between the chimney and your home is another place for air to escape, but you can bridge the gap with the help of L-shaped steel flashing, secured with a fire-stop sealant.
- Seal and insulate all ducts
By spreading fiber-reinforced mastic onto the joints of all of your home’s exhaust and HVAC ducts, you can better seal and insulate them.
- Caulk penetrations
Using a fire-stop sealant, seal the areas around all electrical cables and vent pipes, and keep your eye out for black spots in your insulation where dirt from passing air is staining it.
Ice dams can be a nightmare for homeowners during the winter months, but by taking preventative steps such as those listed above, and seeking professional guidance from a local roofing contractor or construction company, you can protect both your roof and your home, from unwanted icy invasions.