Ice Dams (house, school, contractors)

[BF66389]

How many folks have had them...and had them cause water getting into their house?

...I just want to feel better knowing I'm not alone (I know what causes them, I've *tried* to clear mine for now, and I know what I'll have to do to eliminate them $$$).

Did a nice job on our gorgeous hardwood flooring and bubbled a little paint

[GregW]

Ice Dams 1

Ice Dams are why the bottom 3 ft of a roof is metal or at least backed up by a waterproof membrane. A warm roof will always be colder along the edge and let melted water freeze creating the dam. Most new roofs are cold design where the entire roof is the same temperature as the outside and the snow stays in place until it all melts off.

One way to clear an ice dam is to fill an old sock or stocking with rock salt or lawn fertilizer and throw it on the roof at right angles to the edge. The salt will slowly dissolve while being held in place by the sock and provide a channel for the melt water to drain through. Fertilizer is safer for any plants under the drip.

[GregW]

Ice Dams 2

These generally happens when a frozen stream starts to melt and the broken ice rafts downstream until it hits a constriction like a bend, rapid, dam or old bridge. The restriction causes the ice to pile up above the surface and down to the bottom. Sometimes the ice will completely block the flow and create upstream flooding. When the ice finally breaks out (ice is just about the worst possible material to make a dam out of but is one of the few natural materials available) the pond is released and downstream flooding can occur. These floods can be very dangerous.

[yinduffy]

My home was built with plastic tray-like things stapled to the inside roof eaves. You can see them in the attic. They allow air drawn in from the eave vents to run up along the inside of the bottom edges of the roof.

[maestramommy]

One thing you can do to help prevent them is to really make sure you have enough insulation in your attic. That not only keeps the cold out, it keeps the heat in, as in away from your roof. When your attic is insufficiently insulated, the heat from the house melts the snow on your roof from the inside. Then it'll freeze up because the outside is still cold. It's different from when the sun and warmer outside temp melt the snow right off the roof. I've looked at the edges of our roof, and we get very few icicles, and they're tiny.

[BF66389]

If only it was that easy...we have multiple cathedral ceilings so I can't get in to check on them.

An adjustor is coming on Monday to check it out. Warped our flooring VERY quickly... I have a feeling we had more water during the 3 weeks we were away over the holidays.

[GregW]

Most likely. What type of roofing material do you have?

[BF66389]

Asphalt shingles. Fortunately the water came in through a part of the house that is cantelivered over the foundation...and therefore just ran out the bottom...for the most part...

[jthibodeau]

BF66389,
A few additional pieces of info may help.
Age of the home/roof?
Steepness of pitch or slope or the roof/roofs?
Problem areas face? (N,S,E or W)
Type of ventilation?
Thickness of Insulation?

My main concern for you is poor installation practices. I can't tell you how often I've seen roofing installed directly over the roof sheathing. I've even heard some roofing contractors explain how underlayments, such as ice and water shield or even tar paper, cause the shingles to buckle! These guys need to go back to school or, at least, read the installation instructions printed on the shingle wrapper.

[lisa g]

Just wanted to say I am sorry to hear about your damage, BF!