Ice dams on your roof are dangerous. They can cause a lot of damage, and cause problems with your house. While they are not overly common around Huntsville, they can happen. Should we get a lot of snow this year, it is a worry that should be addressed. It is always better to be prepared and not need it, than to need it and not have it ready. Here are some things that can be done to make sure that you do not struggle with the problems that come with ice dams on your roof.
Your Roof Requires Proper Insulation and Venting to Prevent Ice Dams
If you want to be able to keep your roof safe, it is imperative that you have the right insulation and venting all around your roof. Basically, you want to let your roof remain cool enough to not melt everything that hits your roof. If your roof does not fall below freezing, you do not need to worry about the damage that can come with an ice dam.
An ice dam forms when you have snow or ice on your roof that freezes, then have slightly warm days afterwards, which raise the temperature of your roof above the freezing mark. The weather gets just warm enough to melt some of the ice or snow, then the night gets cold again so that melting refreezes. As the ice forms again, it pushes backwards up the roof and under the shingles. This causes damage to the shingles, and can even push straight back into the attic of your home.
When your attic is cooler, and well ventilated, the parts of the roof that would cause the thawing and refreezing stay cooler, too. This means that your roof will undergo fewer thaw-freeze cycles, and your roof is less likely to take damage.
Call in the Experts to Come Insulate Your Attic
The best way to prevent ice dams is to have your local Huntsville roofing company come out and fully insulate your attic. Most of the heat from your home makes its way up into the attic by having too little insulation. By adding in more insulation, you keep the heat in your home, where it belongs. You want the roofing company to fill in any open gaps between the drywall of your home, and the attic space.
Next, you want them to close off any vents that allow heat up into the attic of your home. This keeps your attic cooler, and prevents your home from causing any type of melting to anything on your roof. Most attics have vents that come up from the home, plus vents that lead to the outside. Your goal should be to have the vents to the home closed off, and keep the vents to the outside wide open.
Finally, find out if there are any coatings you can have added to your roof to prevent dams from forming. There are adhesive layers that can be used under shingles that prevent ice from pushing back, under the shingles. It holds them down tightly. This can keep any ice that does form on your roof from pushing backwards and causing damage.
If you need more information on how to protect your home from ice dams, give your local Huntsville roofing company a call. They can explain things that you can do to help prevent dams from forming, plus they can tell you how they can help make sure that your roof takes as little damage as possible if it is already susceptible to dams.
Give us a call 256-325-2277, or email us for a free roof inspection and Free Estimate
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