Snow-covered roofs and icicles outlining your roof may look beautiful, but they can lead to severe problems like ice dams.
Ice dams are thick bits of solid ice that build up along the edge of your roof. They can be harmful to your property in many ways, including loosening shingles, tearing off your gutters, and causing water to leak. All of this can result in significant problems within your home, including bubbling paint, drooping ceilings, and warped walls and floors. It can also cause a lot of unseen issues like water damage and mold inside of your walls.
Ice dams are something you want to avoid. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to prevent ice dams from forming.
Scroll on to learn more.
How to Prevent Ice Dams
Chipping away at ice dams on your roof is not only dangerous, but it can also be incredibly damaging! And sprinkling salt on the dams can harm the plants and other vegetation below. Since wishing the frigid temperatures away won’t work, there’s one especially effective thing you can do to prevent dams: install heated cables, also called ice melting systems.
Heated cables are attached in a zig-zag pattern near your roofline with clips to help prevent dams from forming and harming your roof and gutter system and creating a safety hazard below. These cables allow you to equalize your roof’s temperature by heating from the outside as opposed to other, less effective methods.
What to Do if Ice Dams Have Already Formed
Getting rid of ice dams is relatively simple. By keeping the entire roof the same temperature as the eaves, you can get rid of ice dams for good. You can do that by increasing ventilation, adding insulation, and sealing off all possible air leaks that might warm the underside of the roof. If ice dams have already formed on your property, there are many things you can do to try to get rid of them; here are a few:
- Add Extra Insulation — Keep the heat where it belongs (inside your home) by adding more insulation to your attic. Check with your local building department to find out just how much your attic floor needs.
- Ventilate Your Ridge and Eaves — Air can circulate effectively when your ridge, eaves, and soffits are vented and help reduce ice dams.
- Exhaust to the Outside — Ducts and vents connected to your bathrooms, kitchen, and dryer all should exhaust outside through the roof or walls (never the soffit).
Contact We Do Roofing SLC Today!
You can do many things to prevent ice dams from forming, but sometimes it isn’t enough. Contact the roofing pros at We Do Roofing SLC if your gutter system or the roof has become damaged because of ice dams. Our skilled team offers various gutter and roofing services to fit your needs. We are Salt Lake City’s trusted and respected roofers with over 20 years of experience. Contact us to get a quote today.
