How Ice Dams Form

Hi folks!

 

Since I've had hundreds of icesickles around the perimeter of my home I started educating myself on Ice Dams BEFORE I started having a problem. I even saw folks on ladders w/hammers breaking up the dams. No... I did not go that far but I read the article ;-) Hope this is helpful to you! Warmest, Darla ;-)

How Ice Dams Form

Ice dams are literally dam-like buildups of ice on a roof.

The ice itself is not a problem. What is a problem is that melted water from the snow can form a pool behind the dam. Most roofs are very effective at shedding water. Very few roofs, however, are designed to cope with pools of water.

Roof leaks that the dams cause can reak all kinds of havoc with wiring, drywall, paint, carpet, flooring, and all manner of interior furnishings. They can also cause problems for your exterior siding plus the wood and insulation behind it.

Ice dams occur most often when we get snow followed by below freezing temperatures, but they can only happen when part of your roof warms up enough to cause snow to melt. The melting water flows down to another part of the roof that is cooler, (which is usually either over the eves or over a better insulated part of the attic) and the water refreezes. The ice forms a small dam that builds up slowly as more and more melt water refreezes. Eventually, water backs up behind the dam and works its way up under the shingles until it begins to leak through the roof into the living space below.

Ice dams are not caused by clogged gutters. Clogged gutters can certainly aggravate an ice dam problem, but they are almost never the actual cause.