Home Repair Tip – Ice Dams

This is the time of year that we get a lot of calls from people concerning ice dams. An ice dam occurs when the snow melts on your roof and collects at your eaves where it re-freezes into ice. As the ice builds up on your eaves, it can begin to grow backwards and find its way underneath your shingles. When the ice is again warmed it will melt and can cause leaking into the house. The best defense against ice dams is prevention. Be sure to clean your gutters and check that they are flowing properly. Another big factor in ice dams is attic ventilation. An attic must be properly vented and insulated in order to ensure that the temperature inside the attic is very close to the temperature outside. If there is a difference in the inside and outside temperatures, your attic can condensate much like a glass of ice water on a hot day. Make sure that you have a good thick layer of insulation between the conditioned spaces of your house and the attic, then make sure that there is adequate ventilation in the attic space to allow cool air to enter as hot air rises and escapes. Proper ventilation will have openings in your soffit to let cool outside air in and roof vents or a ridge vent to allow the hot air to escape as it rises. We see a lot of people blow additional insulation in their attic only to cover up the soffit vents and ruin their ventilation path. A roof is a system. In order for it to work properly all parts of the system must be operating effectively.

Bettendorf Home Repair has helped hundreds of your neighbors with their ice dam problems and we can help you too. Call us at 563-355-8449 to schedule a free estimate!