Ice Dams On Roof Eaves

Gutters at the eaves can also trap snow and ice.

Ice dams on roof eaves. More critically ice dams can cause meltwater to back up under the shingles where it can flow down and ruin ceiling and wall surfaces. While frozen they re no more trouble than the icicles that hang down. Attached with clips along the roof s edge in a zigzag pattern heated. Heat collects in the attic and warms the roof except at the eaves.

If snow and ice build up high enough in the gutter it can provide a foundation for an ice dam. When the meltwater reaches the colder eaves the part of the roof that extends beyond the walls the water refreezes and creates a buildup of ice along the edge of your roofline says this old house. Ice dams are continuous chunks of ice that form along the margins of your roof. Meltwater from the warm roof backs up behind it flows under the shingles and into the house.

The icicles hanging from your eaves and gutters last year may be a faint memory now. Freezing at the eave impedes the drainage of meltwater which adds to the ice dam and causes backup of the meltwater which may cause water leakage into the roof and consequent damage to the building and its contents if the water. But winter is coming and along with it one of your home s worst enemies ice dams. If ignored ice dams can cause serious damage to your roof.

Ice dams form when warm air from inside your home melts snow on the roof. Snow melts on the warm roof and then freezes on the cold eaves. Severe ice dams can weigh many hundreds of pounds compromising the structure of the roof eaves. What damage do ice dams cause.

Ice accumulates along the eaves forming a dam. When an ice dam gets big enough melted water backs up behind it and seeps underneath. An ice dam is an ice build up on the eaves of sloped roofs of heated buildings that results from melting snow under a snow pack reaching the eave and freezing there. Meltwater from the warm roof backs up behind it flows under the shingles and into the house.

Finally ice accumulates along the eaves forming a dam. How to prevent ice dams use heated cables.