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. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas.
A lot of our clients reach out to us because they encounter this issue and after years of battling it with no success, they are understandably frustrated. There are a few key items to consider when seeking solutions to your ice damming problem:
The best insulating material there is, is trapped air. Snow consists of more than 95% air. Correctly trapped snow is the best insulation your roof can wish for in the winter. We have snow fence systems engineered that can withstand 30 – 40 feet of snow at a time, which is the standard in high mountainous areas. The more snow you keep on your roof in the winter the more it helps you insulate your building against heat loss.
If you still encounter ice damming, the insulation should be addressed. If it is within budget to replace you roof, it’s much easier to add a few more inches to the insulation in the attic while the roof is open than where otherwise limited access would be available.
While we’re on the subject, ice melt or other roof heating products have two negative effects. The first being the tremendous electricity it consumes to heat your roof in the winter on the outside. Second, and probably the strongest argument against heat tape, is that when you rely on the ice melt system to keep your building ice free, and build the entire building around the assumption that it will, in a case of a power outage or frequent system failure, you are back to square one (today) where you easily could just fix the ice damming problem and not only never pay for it ever again, but enjoy a solid roof system for essentially the life of the material.
With the understanding that ice damming is best treated on a case by case issue, let us help you permanently solve for what ails your roof and tell us what’s going on. We’ll make sure this is one headache less to deal with in your life.
It’s almost snow and ice season again. Stay ahead of the problem and call us today! 801-462-5264
Problems with ice damming? Call us!
