The Dreaded Ice Dam Is Back
It has been a few years now since we have had a steady few weeks of cold and snow in our area. This combined with the help of the sun and most importantly heat loss in your home can lead to ice dams.
Ice damming can be pretty destructive to the exterior and interior of your home.
- Ripping gutters from the eaves
- Encapsulating electric meters, air conditioners, and gas meters.
- Wreak havoc on interior surfaces.
If you are lucky, relatively speaking, and you see water coming from your walls, ceiling, or windows it may be easy to pinpoint where the melting ice is coming from. Otherwise, it may be a while before you discover that you had an issue in the first place.
Don’t Blame The Gutter
Ice damming can form several ways based on the style of the house and the insulating properties. To keep it basic the following description is common no matter how your house was built with exception of newer efficient homes….. most of the time.
Snow flies, accumulating on the roof. The top of your roof looks good with snow on it. Then temperature rises and the snow melts sending water down to the gutters as it should. So far so good right? 
As the water is moving towards the gutter the temperature drops below freezing turning your gutter into an ice cube tray. Normally in this area the weather changes so often we can escape the dreaded ice dam, but if the weather does not warm above freezing the process keeps repeating. After several days of cold weather with sunshine heating, the top of the roof the “ice tray” gutter has exceeded its capacity.
Now that you have ice jammed gutters and giant ice daggers hanging from your home, the real problems start.
Inefficient homes have areas of framing typically near the attic that let heat move through drywall and wood which have no insulating value. The base layer of ice gets heated and melts but can not escape due to the thickness of the accumulated ice.
Heat can also escape from light fixtures and raised air returns. If you have larger soffits, water can creep up the sheathing freeze then drip over time. If you have small or no soffits the heat loss melts the underlying ice, then water follows the path of least resistance straight into your home.
Mix in the steepness of your roof and it seems like you can not win. Please, everyone, keep in mind there are several ways and contributing factors leading to ice dams that may not be mentioned here. In some cases, you can’t even see hanging ice.
Who do I call?
A qualified roofer should be able to fix your immediate ice damn problem. If possible avoid setting up the ladder, and hacking away at the ice with an ax… probably won’t end well. In the long run, a home energy audit can help pinpoint heat loss and provide great ways to improve the conditioning of your home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Lyle is an NYS licensed home inspector #16000047851, NYS licensed Mold Assessor #1239. He performs home inspection and mold assessments in several counties of the finger lakes region. Jason also provides radon testing upon request. If you have any questions about your home or need to schedule a home or mold inspection for pre-sale, post-sale or just cause do not hesitate to call. Jason’s information is located on his website, www.goldshieldproservices.com
