Ice Dams Can Create Home Water Damage
There are quite a few different ways to deal with ice
dams that create home water damage. The first thing that we need to
examine is how the water damage actually happens, once an ice dam forms
on the roof.
Believe it or not ice dams will force ice and water underneath your roof
shingles, if large areas of snow remain on your roof, for long periods
of time. The most common place for an ice dam will be at the edge or
bottom of your roof.
As the ice forces its way underneath the roofing shingles, it will
eventually work its way underneath the entire roof shingle. Once this
happens, any ice that melts, will start to leak into your
attic. In
other words, you might not have any problems until springtime and by
this time, your attic could have large sections of solid ice waiting for
the right time to melt.
I have seen areas where there is at least 1 foot of solid ice located at
the base of the attic underneath the roof. It's hard to imagine that any
ice dam can actually form and do the damage that it does, but it does
and if you live in areas where it snows and temperatures drop below
freezing, you need to understand what's happening and what you can do
about it.
You should try to keep as much snow off of your roof as possible,
safely. This doesn't mean that you need to climb on your roof, to remove
the snow. There are different methods for removing snow off of your roof
safely. Homeowners have been using snow rakes for years.
If you notice any water damage on the interior or exterior of the house
during the winter, it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact a home repair
professional. Remember the old saying,” You can pay me now or pay me
later.” Don't let this happen to you. Fix all water damage problems,
before they get worse and cost you more money.