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The Building & Remodeling Experts

Ice Dam Preventive & Solutions

Get Ready For Next Winter! 2011-2012

An attic with no insulation will generally not have a problem with ice dams. The heat coming through the attic will tend to melt snow off as it lands and prevent much accumulation. A well-sealed and insulated attic will generally not have ice dams. Like the example of a detached garage, this generally results in a cool roof and no great amount of melting. Ice dams are more frequent if the roof is complicated by many valleys and dormers or there is a large roof overhang.

Ice dams will first show up where there is inadequate insulation or major air leaks. One way to find these locations is to look at the roof with the first heavy frost in fall or light snow. Watch where the snow melts off first and find out what is under that spot on the roof. One common sight in such conditions is a horizontal melt line across the roof of a storey-and-a-half house, where the short knee wall meets the ceiling. Other places would be beneath a roof-ducted exhaust fan or over a leaky attic access hatch. The basic relief for ice damming is to seal all attic air leaks and insulate thoroughly, the same solution as for attic condensation.

Many attics, including those under low-sloped roofs, do not have enough space for adequate insulation at the edge of the attic floor. If soffit insulation requires a baffle to keep a ventilation opening against the sheathing, often there will be only 100 mm (4 inches) of space for insulation. This will tend to melt the snow off just above the over hang and promote ice damming. Try to put the best insulation possible at that edge to reduce heat loss. Blown foam is ideal as it air seals as well as insulates.

Cut pieces of extruded polystyrene will help as well. Mount a piece of extruded polystyrene 25 mm (1 inch) from the sheathing to maintain the ventilation air space and fill between this board and the attic floor with good insulation.

Ice dams caused by cathedral ceilings are more difficult. The same principles apply to preventing ice dams — stopping house air leaks, good insulation, perhaps ventilation — but cathedral ceilings are harder to get to. If you have ice dam problems with cathedral ceilings, you can fix the problem when re-roofing. Remove the sheathing, seal and fill the cavities with insulation, and replace the roofing material. A well-sealed roof will not need ventilation. If you are uncertain whether the sealing can be done effectively, leave a ventilation channel under the sheathing from the soffit to the peak. Sometimes insulation can be added to the ceiling inside, although this approach will not catch the air leakage.

An extensive and expensive ice dam solution is to make the roof impermeable by using a self-sealing membrane under the shingles. Building codes require such membranes on the lower part of the roof in new houses. Note that these membranes do not stop ice dams, they just prevent the water from leaking through the roof sheathing. Ice damming can still create the unsightly ice build-up and possible damage to shingles and gutters, but you may be spared the leakage into the house.

Do all these ice damming solutions sound like too much work? There are many quicker solutions that are popular, but in the end have drawbacks. You can attach electric cables which will melt channels in the ice, sometimes alleviating a problem. Cables use a significant amount of electrical energy as well as being an eyesore on most roofs.

Removing gutters will keep them from becoming ice traps, but gutters are valuable: they keep roof water away from your basement. Attacking ice dams every winter with an axe or ice pick is a good way to shorten shingle life — and a good opportunity to fall off a ladder. At least one person has had success with filling nylon stockings with salt and laying them in the gutter. Some corrosion and environmental damage may result.

For some older houses with complicated roofs, it may be impossible to completely eliminate ice dams without resorting to some of the methods above. However, for most houses, the preferred solution is to keep house heat out of the attic, by air sealing and insulating, and avoid weaker alternatives. Spend the time to fix it properly and you will not have to worry about it again while you live in that house.

Here you can see baffles up to the bottom of the roof decking. Keeps insulation from the roof deck and insures air can pass between the roof deck and the warm insulation.

SNOW MELT SOCK

No one should shovel snow. It doesn't matter who you are. According to the experts, everyone over 40 should avoid this activity at all costs. Instead use a snow melt sock to prevent icy steps, walkways, and roof ice dams. If you have ever used a "Snow Melt Sock" before, you know that they provide an inexpensive method for preventing icy steps and walkways as well as removing roof ice dams and improving your home's heating efficiency. Laying an ice melt sock along the sides or at the base of steps or onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter, will melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the steps. If done properly those icy steps or ice patches that form as the snow melts will never appear. A refillable ice sleeve stops ice formation by laying in wait for precipitation and then when it snows by creating ice channels to drain water. Just place and forget it for the winter ice in gutters and downspouts are virtually impossible to remove without damage. In many cases, the gutter system has to be removed from the roof. If you have never used a ice dam sock on your roof before, you will find that they provide an inexpensive method for removing roof ice dams and improving your home's heating efficiency. Roof ice dams are an annoying source of roof damage, leaks, and heat loss in the winter. The main causes are drip melt from improperly capped warm air vent pipes and poor roof insulation.

Laying a snow melt sock onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter, will melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. If done properly those icicles that form as the snow melts from the edges of the gutters will never appear, they too are a cause of much damage and are dangerous to life and limb. Refillable ice dam socks break ice dams in minutes by creating ice channels to drain water. Just place and forget it for the winter. The socks are available from most manufacturers full of non-staining ice melt or empty for you to fill. Ice dam socks remove ice dams to prevent water damage to ceilings, windowsills, wood floors, and carpets. Most ice dam melting socks are nylon; this nylon sock can be used again and again to remove ice dams from your roof. Most ice melt socks do not include ice melt or throw cord. Typical sock when filled weight 3 pounds, and is 18 inches long, ice melt sock lasts for months. This is based on melt of 20-40 Square yards of roof snow per sock used. Place one sock every 10-15 feet at right angles above channel eaves and gutters. Reuse sock until empty. After use allow socks to dry naturally. Store in well-ventilated area. Purchase only environmentally friendly 100% nylon socks. An ice melt sock can last all winter and keep a 20 square foot area clear of ice dams depending on roof angle, sock placement, and rain/snowfall.

Step 1.

Ice Melt Sock filled with Ice Melt

Fill ice melt sock with non-staining off the shelf ice melt from any hardware store.

Step 2

Ice Melt Sock thrown on roof

Attach a 10-20 foot length of nylon cord to the ice melt sock for positioning and retrieval of the ice melt sock.

Step 3

Ice Melt Sock Positioning

Throw ice melt sock on roof and use throw cord to pull into position so ice melt sock just overhangs the rain gutter. Be sure to tie off the throw cord so the ice melt sock can be removed and refilled.

Fill old pantyhose with deicer. (Calcium chloride and corn-based formulas are preferred. Place them on the ice dam vertically (perpendicular to the roof's edge) to create the drainage channels

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