The melt water runs down the length of the roof to the eaves where it refreezes forming a dam and icicles.
Ice dam in attic.
Ice dams snow on your roof and attic condensation.
Ice dams usually start or worsen after a heavy snow because of snow s insulating properties.
The snow layer traps warm beneath the snow which causes it to melt.
The water trickles down between the layer of snow and the shingles until it reaches the eave of the roof which stays cold because it extends beyond the side of the house.
The tutorial how to prevent and remove ice dams describes what ice dams are and how you can try to prevent them from forming and damaging your home.
While stopping a water leak or repairing a washing machine hose down in the basement might be fairly straightforward snow on the roof ice dams and attic condensation are forms of water damage typical to cold climate homes and are a little more complicated and a little trickier to fix.
Cold air at the lower part of the roof.
Air must be able to circulate freely under the roof.
An ice dam forms when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the underside of the layer of snow on the roof.
In a typical home there is a series of vents under the soffits or eaves.
Water running down the roof refreezes when it reaches the colder roof edge forming a mound of ice.
Attic ventilation is usually the easiest way to prevent ice damming yet it is the step most often omitted.
In the tutorial it also describes some of the preventative things you can do before winter including.
Warm air rising to the peak of the attic causing snow to melt and flow to the eave.
Ice dams form when heat leaking into attics or roof cavities from the building below or from attic ductwork melts the bottom layer of snow on the roof.
Most attics are designed to take advantage of the fact that heat rises.
So the water above backs up behind the ice dam and remains a liquid.
Ice dams can be a real problem in winter.
Heavy snow coverage on the roof acting as a layer of insulation preventing heat loss.
Ice dams occur after a heavy snowfall when warm air in the attic causes the roof to warm and the snow to melt.
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.
If you have a furnace in the.
This water finds cracks and openings in the exterior roof covering and flows into the attic space.
Excessive snow on the roof attic condensation and ice buildup can cause roof damage water damage and personal injury.
