It’s no secret that winters are hard on buildings in Maine. Homeowners know just how frustrating dealing with these weather-related challenges can be. From shoveling out of your front door to salting your driveway before you can pull out of it safely, winter requires a whole host of new chores, but none quite so urgent as roof ice dams.
You can typically spot roof ice dams by the icicles hanging from your gutters and eaves. These impressive, sparkling phenomena give you great insight into what is happening under the snow and ice on your roof. When icicles signal an ice dam frozen along the edge of your roof, get prepared to tackle some challenges.
What Causes Ice Dams?
Ice Dams are caused by heat rising out of your warm home under the roof. It melts some of the snow, which flows down. Upon reaching the overhanging eaves, which are colder, the melted snow freezes into an ice dam. Without care, these will continue to build up as more snow melts and refreezes, creating a dangerously thick dam at the edge of your roof.
Dangers of Ice Dams
The weight of these dams can cause serious damage. As the dam thickens, some of the backed-up water remains over the heated part of the home. It does not refreeze but pools on the roof. Eventually, this seeps through the roof and ceiling, causing a serious winter leak in need of repair and primed for mold issues.
On the exterior of the roof, shingles and gutters may be damaged by the weight of the frozen mound. Not only is this an inconvenient and expensive problem to fix, but these large chunks of ice and gutter falling off the roof are also dangerous to anyone below.
Solutions for Preventing Roof Ice Dams
Talk to the Roof Doctors about preventing roof ice dams. From using technology to hiring their help after winter storms, you can protect your roof from the dangers of roof ice dams.
Having the Roof Doctors install roof heating cables along the edge of your roof before the winter can put you in the right position to melt those ice dams before they even happen. These cables safely heat the edge of your roof so that the melted water does not refreeze there.
Calling in professional help to rake your roof after a big storm will also prevent damming. With the proper tools, the Roof Doctors can tackle roof raking for you.
Never want to deal with the possibility of ice dams again? The Roof Doctors can help you revamp your roof to prevent melting. Roofs with better insulation and no air leaking do not melt the snow from interior heat.
While this is a big project to take on just for roof ice dams, better insulation in your roof is a smart move to make for many reasons. You will notice a reduction in your energy bills with better insulation. Your home will stay both cooler or warmer as needed when you can trap the air inside and control your climate.
Don’t let ice dams damage your roof in the next big snowstorm. The Roof Doctors have solutions to help you so call today at (207) 772-2719.
