Steps to Stop Ice Dams From Forming
Posted on Thu, Nov 03, 2011
With snow already on the ground, it’ll be interesting to see what else Mother Nature has in store for us this winter. Last year, ice dams wreaked havoc on many Massachusetts homes. It’s not too late to get a jump on preventative measures to keep those dangerous icicles from forming. DYILife offers these suggestions for ice dam prevention.
How Ice Dams are Born
In poorly insulated homes, warm air escapes through the ceiling and into the attic. If ventilation inside the attic is also inadequate, all that warm air has nowhere to go. Result: the roof's temperature starts to creep up higher than the outdoors air temperature, causing accumulated snow on the roof to begin melting.
Water then trickles down the slope of the roof until it once again hits a cold patch, usually the gutter. There it refreezes, gradually forming a dam that prevents runoff. Additional melting snow, having nowhere to go, starts seeping inside the house -- and that's where the homeowner's headaches begin.
The first and most simple step in preventing ice dams is to keep your gutters clean. Remove leaves and other debris so that melting snow and ice can flow freely.
A Cool Solution: Insulation and Ventilation
The only way to permanently eradicate ice dams is not to warm your roof up but to cool it down with better insulation and attic ventilation. Until then, you'll go right on experiencing ice dams in severe weather. Any other strategy will provide a temporary fix, at best.
In northern states such as Massachusetts, attic insulation should be at least 12 inches deep. Make sure it is installed correctly, without any gaps between sections, and in conjunction with a vapor barrier. While you're at it, check that attic heating ducts are located as far as possible from the roof.
Also check around light fixtures, chimneys, bathroom fans and anywhere else heat might escape upwards. If you discover small holes, seal them up with caulk, spray foam or weather-stripping.
Next, evaluate your attic's ventilation system. Are there adequate inlet and outlet vents? If not, look into installing a continuous soffit and ridge ventilation system. Here's how it works: a vent is installed that runs the entire length of the roof at its apex.
We all know hot air rises, right? In this case, the hot air now has somewhere to go, naturally flowing up and out through this new attic vent.
Meanwhile, that draught of air upwards and outwards creates a vacuum, sucking cold outdoors air into the attic via soffit vents, further cooling down your trouble zone. The beauty part is there are no fans or wires or anything else to be maintained. Nature does all the work for you!