Preventing Ice Dams in Albany

While the Northeast winters bring the joys of skiing and sledding, and the beautiful backdrop of snowcapped mountains, they also bring some unwanted headaches. One in particular can cause serious damage to your roof and home… ice dams. Ice dams are those chunks of ice that form along the edges of your roof. While frozen, they’re not much more trouble than icicles. But once it warms up, water melting off the roof pools behind the ice, then redirects back up under the shingles. Sometimes water can work its way up to 10 feet back. That’s when the problems begin. Eventually it drips through the roof into the soffits, walls, and worst of all, onto your ceilings. Some common issues are rust spots on drywall fasteners, peeling paint, sagging drywall and stains around windows and doors. Dealing with insurance and the aggravation isn’t something any of us want to deal with.

The most effective way to prevent ice dams are:

Attic Insulation – hire a professional to check the depth of your attic insulation and, if needed, use them to blow more insulation where needed. You’re not going to save much money doing it on your own and you’ll have piece of mind knowing it’s done right.
Airflow in the Attic – adequate soffit openings and a proper ridge vent are critical in drawing in cold air and flushing out warm air, cooling the attic and the roof in the process.

If you have any questions about how to prevent ice dams or are experiencing problems or damage to your roof contact the professionals at Home Evolution right away.