What Is an Ice Dam?
Winters in Westchester can be brutal. When cold conditions are combined with snow accumulation, and there is heat loss due to inadequate overhang ventilation and lack of proper insulation in the attic, it is the recipe for an Ice Dam. That can spell major headaches for your home’s roof and interior, unless the problem is immediately addressed.
Explanation: If ice collects on the edge of your roof, it leads to uneven roof temperatures, which creates a barrier that stops melting snow from draining off the roof. Snow on the part of your roof that is above 32 degrees will melt, getting jammed up as part of an ice dam when it travels to the part of the roof that is below 32 degrees. The warmer roof portion is caused by interior house heat, such as an attic, or sometimes from the sun. That can create collateral interior damage in the form of water leaking into your structure, spoiling your ceilings, walls, and insulation.
How to Know if an Ice Dam Has Formed on Your Roof
Carefully examine any icicles around the exterior of your house. If you find that the icicles are limited to the gutters and there is no water trapped behind them, chances are no Ice Dam has formed. Still, where icicles exist, an Ice Dam may not be far behind.
Stay Safe, Call the Experts
Even if they list it as one of their services, not all contractors are expert in Ice Dam removal. If not done properly by experienced professionals, your shingles and gutters will suffer! Workers who get up on your roof without a safety harness, wielding a pick axe, hatchet, or the claw part of a straight hammer, will run the first and second coarse of your shingles and possibly dent and ding your gutters as well.
Make sure any contractor hired to clear your ice dams is duly licensed and carries the appropriate liability insurance that you should closely inspect. If its language doesn’t specifically stipulate coverage for injuries incurred on the roof (as opposed to on or near the ground), you can be liable for personal injury.
Some DIY homeowners might be tempted to clear up ice dams on their own. We urge you to think twice before attempting to take Ice Dam removal into your own hands. The same cautionary advice applies to simple tasks you might think you can handle, such as cleaning your gutters in the fall. Hundreds of accidents happen each year that are caused by do-it-yourself tasks.
Icicles can be large and potentially dangerous, like a sharp weapon. It’s best to speak with the experts here at Franzoso Contracting to schedule the removal of Ice Dams. We’ve made an investment to help you!
Ice Dams don’t stand a chance with the low pressure, high temperature output that Franzoso’s Polar Vortex Steamer has to offer. The special process uses hot water-generated steam to melt everything — and instantly stops the damage Ice Dams cause to your home’s interior. Plus, with this process, there is NO damage to your Roofs and Gutters.
Over dozens of winters, Franzoso Contracting has saved Westchester homeowners considerable dollars from such costly damage as roof membrane instability, moisture in your attic, detached gutters, loosened shingles, and erosion of exterior walls, and interior wall and ceiling damage.
For more information, visit Franzoso.com or call 914-690-7708