Ice dams occur when melting ice build up in your roof causes water damage to your interior walls and ceilings.
Ice dams on vent pipe roof.
This solution allows you to equalize your roof s temperature by heating it from the outside instead of blowing in cold air from the inside as we mention next in fast fixes.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that occurs on the edge of the roof of your house that prevents melting snow from draining off your home s roof.
Ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge.
Attached with clips along the roof s edge in a zigzag pattern heated cables help prevent ice dams that lift shingles and cause leaks.
This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing.
Effects of ice dams.
Steps to takeproper ventilation drainage and insulation are the only ways to prevent ice dams.
Ice dams are caused by a combination of snow heat loss from your house and cold outdoor temperatures.
Circulating the air in the attic has a number of beneficial effects on the roof and the house in general.
In winter the circulation allows heat to escape thus keeping the roof colder and preventing ice dams from forming.
In summer attic ventilation does just the opposite.
The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas.
This scenario is often the result of a warm attic.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow water from draining off the roof.
Some attic ventilation fans are solar powered.
When icicles grow large and have a long way to fall they can cause serious injury and even death.
As the ice accumulates it forms a blockage that prevents the snowmelt from flowing off the roof.
Make sure your gutters are clear of leaves and debris.
And only two feet of snow buildup on a roof can cause enough stress for the entire structure to collapse.
Figure 1 shows a cross section of a home with an ice dam.
Ice dams form when the snow melts on an upper warmer part of a roof.
Vent stack is hot warms up the roof as well as melting the snow around it on the outside part snow on the roof melts drips to the gutter freezes in the gutter gutter fills up with ice water flows over the gutter and drips down forming icicles.
One of the main safety concerns when it comes to winter weather systems is the buildup of snow and ice on roofs.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow water from draining off the roof.
