If you think the ice dams on the eaves of your house or gutters are causing indoor leaks the safest thing to do is hire a certified microbial investigator who can use a moisture meter to check for wet and damp areas behind walls as well as take air samples to see if there is a mold problem.
Ice dam on roof leaking.
There are a few key points that differentiate an ice dam condition from typical snow accumulation on a roof.
The outside temperatures must be below freezing for a duration long enough to allow freezing t the roof edge to occur.
Next remove the ice dam by breaking it free in small chunks.
The cold air will.
It melts the ice away without damaging the roofing.
The third type of leak is caused by condensation or frost build up in the attic.
Snow melts on the warm roof and then freezes on the cold eaves.
The frost is formed by warm moist air leaking into the cold attic space.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow water from draining off the roof.
If you have leakage from an ice dam and can t rake the snow off the roof the best way to get rid of the ice dam is to hire a roofing company to steam it off.
Apply calcium chloride or another ice melting product onto the ice.
Heat collects in the attic and warms the roof except at the eaves.
A steamer is like a pressure washer except that the water is hot.
The water trickles down between the layer of snow and the shingles until it reaches the eave of the roof which stays cold because it extends beyond the side of the house.
An ice dam will not typically occur during an early winter.
Moisture entering the home from ice dams can lead to the growth of mold and mildew.
Categorization of water from ice dams.
An ice dam forms when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the underside of the layer of snow on the roof.
If your roof is.
The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas.
What is an ice dam.
Effects of ice dams.
Be very careful here you don t want to further damage.
Ice accumulates along the eaves forming a dam.
Frost and ice can build up on the underside of the roof sheathing or in wall and roof cavities.
If an ice dam has formed here are immediate steps you can take to help prevent further damage.
Place a box fan in the attic and direct it at the underside of the roof where water is leaking in.
Meltwater from the warm roof backs up behind it flows under the.