Thursday, February 21st, 2013
We came across an article giving a basic overview of ice dams on About.com. One particular part of the article rang out in familiar tones:
Rows of icicles along the roof of a house look very pretty but they are often a symptom of an ice dam. An ice dam is caused by snow melting from the roof of a house, but then freezing in the gutters creating a dam. (our emphasis)
Read About.com’s Minneapolis Ice Dam Article
It’s a common misconception that gutters are somehow a required ingredient to the ice dam recipe. It’s understandable why this falsehood perpetuates: a gutter is a basin that will catch running water, it’s typically a metal-material so in cold it conducts low temperatures, and gutters live on the edge of the overhang, where ice dams form. –But it’s not explicitly why they form.
Why do Ice Dams form then?
The temperature in your attic should be as close to the temperature outside as possible, but when heat escapes your house, snow on your roof can melt. Even when your attic houses a higher temperature then it should (you have some home performance issues), when that melted water on your roof gets to the overhang, it can refreeze, because there’s no heat source directly below it.
See the following illustration, and also check out Our Definitive Guide on Ice Dams:
Looking at the illustration, you can see we aren’t even showing a gutter, and it’s definitely not uncommon for an ice dam to form in this situation.
Although gutters are not a requirement for an ice dam to form, and having no gutters is not an ice dam prevention solution, gutter ice can cause major damage, simply because of the way a gutter attaches to the overhang facia, and can collect a lot of weight in ice.
If you have problems with ice dams, or require ice dam removal contact the Ice Dam Company today.
If you have a leak as the result of an ice dam, we can help there too.
Tags: about ice dams, gutter ice, ice dam removal jerks
Posted in Ice Dams, Misc. | Comments Off on The Gutter Ice Misconception
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
An article in popular mechanics recently published about Ice Dam Prevention, and What to do if you have ice dam problems gets the basics:
To prevent an ice dam, don’t heat the roof, keep it cold. That way, the snow on the roof eventually dissipates without making large amounts of meltwater. The underside of the roof deck should not exceed 30 F. The best way to maintain low temperatures is by ensuring that there is adequate insulation and sealing gaps that let warm air pass into the attic from the house. The attic must also be ventilated, so that cold air is introduced into it and heated air escapes rapidly. Some remodeling contractors are under the impression that heat passing through the attic helps prevent ice dams, when just the opposite is true. Although excess heat moving from the attic through the roof rapidly melts snow, once the meltwater touches the cold eaves, it quickly freezes and forms an ice dam.
Read the full Popular Mechanics Ice Dam Article Here
…Then the article falls short at really looking at solutions to identify root problems (other then proper insulation) and determining solutions. Instead it looks at situations where there’s a furnace in the attic, and then turns it’s focus to cosmetically hiding symptoms of ice dams. Before you go this route, you really should determine what the underlying problem is, and fix it.
If you don’t feel confident in attempting to diagnose and fix ice dam problems yourself, it’s always a good idea to contact a contractor that has a Minnesota State Certified Energy Auditor on staff, has experience in insulation & ventilation installs, fixing roof leaks and making stuff look good.
Tags: edina ice dam removal, ice dam removal jerks, minnetonka ice dam removal, orono ice dam removal, wayzata ice dam removal
Posted in Ice Dams, Misc., Water Damage | Comments Off on Popular Mechanics: Ice Dams
