The term ice damming is used to describe the build-up of ice and snow along the eaves of a house during the winter months. The forming of an ice dam indicates that heat is escaping through your roof. The ice dams will form when a too warm of a roof surface melts snow on the roof. When this build-up gets large enough, the free flow of rainwater and melting snow off the roof can stop. The resulting water back-up forms on the rooftops above the dam, which when it freezes, can work its way underneath virtually any kind of shingle. The ongoing struggle with an ice dam problem is not only frustrating, but costly.
Solving the problem depends on understanding what the source of the problem is and successfully carrying out the solution(s) to the problem. Poor ventilation and inadequate insulation combined with a heavy snowfall can lead to an ice build up on the roof. Roof water freezes in the gutters, creating an ice dam, which backs up more water. The water can back up into an outside wall, damaging ceilings and walls.
ICE DAMS SIGNIFY HEAT LOSS:
Since the source of this heat comes from inside the house, the eaves of the roof are invariably colder, since they don't have a heated room underneath. When the warmed flow of melted water hits the cold eaves, it freezes and forms a small ice ridge. This ridge - the seed of the ice dam continues to trap and freeze roof water on its journey downwards toward the ground. As the dam builds, water is trapped above it on the warm part of the roof, where it's free to seep underneath your shingles.
SOLUTIONS TO ICE DAMMING:
IMPERVIOUS EAVES:
One way to solve the ice dam problem is to fasten a continuous, waterproof layer of rubber, metal or asphalt roofing over the lowest eight or 10 courses of shingles along the eaves.
This waterproof layer must tuck underneath the uppermost course of shingles above it to shed water properly. This fix won't stop the ice dam from forming, but it will stop standing water from seeping between courses of shingles. This solution is most suitable for use with asphalt shingles because it is easiest to visually match a waterproof membrane with the surrounding roof. But even still, there's no hiding this added waterproof layer. Aesthetic considerations are the biggest strike against this solution.
HEATED EAVES:
Any building supply outlet can provide you with high-resistance electrical heating cable made especially for melting away eaves-based ice dams. This cable is designed to zigzag along the eaves, up as far as ice typically develops during a severe winter. The cables are held in place with screwed-down clips over top of waterproof grommets. The cables tap into your home's electrical system and can be switched on and off manually, or by the thermostat. Eaves-heating cables are easier to install than an eave membrane and they don't look obtrusive, especially against a cedar or tile roof. The downside is that roof-heating cables consume valuable, and increasingly expensive electricity.
THE COLD ROOF:
The best way to solve the ice dam problem is also the most difficult, keeping the roof's surface uniformly cold. A combination of adding more attic insulation and increasing attic ventilation often is the basis of a good solution. Turbine vents do a great job of increasing attic air movement, with minimal construction hassle.
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