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Tips of the Trade: Signs of Ice Dams
Tips of the Trade: Signs of Ice Dams
Ice skating, fishing and ice sculptures are an enjoyable part of the winter season, however, ice dams are not. Unfortunately, this won’t stop them from showing up this season. So how do you know if a building is susceptible to ice dams?
If you’re looking at the building in the winter you can look for:
1) Icicles: Icicles hanging from the roof are a tell-tale sign of heat loss, which is what causes ice dams.
2) Snow only on the bottom portion of the roof: This also indicates that there is heat loss in the attic which has caused the snow at the top of the roof to melt. (Warm air rises.)
3) Ice dams: Yes, they are readily visible, but only at areas of cooler temperatures, such as the eaves, not over the entire roof.
Signs you can see anytime of the year include:
1) Poor ventilation: Look in the attic and from the outside of the home to see how many vents there are and where they are located. Does the ventilation meet building code requirements? While meeting these requirements doesn’t guarantee that ventilation issues aren’t causing ice dams, it’s at least a start to ensuring good ventilation.
2) Blocked soffit or ridge vents: Are the vents blocked by insulation, beams or anything else? This would obviously reduce or discount their effectiveness.
3) Recessed (can) lights in the ceiling: These add even more heat into the attic, especially in homes with cathedral ceilings, and will only increase problems if there is not proper ventilation.
4) Inadequate attic insulation: This will allow warm air to escape and melt the snow. Along with poor ventilation, this is a condition that creates an ice dam factory.
5) Gaps in ceiling finish material: These gaps will let warm air escape and can melt snow and ice on the roof, which will then refreeze when it reaches colder spots on the roof.
6) Un-insulated heat sources in attics: Any heat source, such as a water heater vent stack, needs to be properly insulated so it does not produce warmer areas in the attic and on the roof.
Now that you know why ice dams form, you can you determine if, in fact, the ice dam caused the damage. Call us with your questions at 800-222-1868. One of our investigators will be happy to discuss your specific situation at no charge!
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