Ice Dam Prevention In Virginia

Just in case you thought it was ok to ignore the unbelievably intense heat in your attic last summer we want to remind you that every little failure with your roof has a consequence. Rule #1 is your attic should never get more than a few degrees warmer than the external temperature in the summer or the winter. If it does, and you get a heavy snowfall in your part of the state you will become the unlucky owner of a famous Virginia ice dam on your rooftop.

 Next thing you know, the stream of melt water can’t get past the icicles and starts back paddling, but ends up freezing into a ridge along the entire length of the roof. This is an ice dam. The next wave of melting snow to show up has nowhere to go but upslope and under your shingles. Now you have a water leak through your roof in the middle of winter.

There is a trick to getting rid of an ice dam in VA and we don’t mind coming out to your house to do it for you. If you are so inclined, follow these instructions to do it yourself

How to solve an ice dam problem.

1. Remove all the snow and ice above the problem gutter
2. Remove the gutter. Gutter must be cut into small sections due to the weight of
   the ice. In order for this to be done safely and with no damage to the home it
   will take two men to do. 
3. Remove the shingles 3 ft high and along the entire length of the gutter.
4. Install ice and water shield to the wood surface of the roof and approx: 3 - 4 inches onto the fascia board where the gutter use to be.
5. Re-shingle roof with matching color shingles
6. Roof shingles will not self seal right away due to the cold, this is why an adhesive must be applied to the underside of all shingles for 100% adhesion
7. Fasten new gutter over the ice and water to the fascia board.
8. Job completed

We know you don’t want to have to deal with an ice dam every time there’s a decent snowfall, so until we give you a permanent fix for the problem by solving the lack of ventilation in your attic, keep the snow shoveled off your roof. This will take care of it until we sort it out with enough roof vents or roof fans.

The moment your attic heats up enough to start melting the snow on your roof, water trickles down the slope and does a nose dive over the edge toward the ground. Trouble is – it does not get very far. Once the trickle goes off the roof it hits freezing air and stops dead in its tracks. You’ll know this is happening when you see icicles hanging off the sides of your house. 

 Ice Dam Comment