ICE DAMAGE
As if snow wasn’t enough in the winter, we have slippery sidewalks, cold cars and worst of all leaky ceilings or water damaged walls and carpets. The biggest culprits are ice dams and bursting pipes. Mihalko’s General Contracting’s team of experts knows what to do during these cold winter months.
 WHAT IS AN ICE DAM?
An ice dam is a build up of snow from the freeze-melt cycling on your home’s roof deck. Because of interior heat, the snow melts and runs down only to refreeze at the roof’s edge, where temperatures are colder. The water then freezes in the gutter and/or on the overhang. The ice then builds up and blocks water from draining off of the roof. Trapped water stays and subsequently backs up in through the shingles and/or fascia, which can leak into your house. Large icicles will form because of ice dams and can be magnified by a sudden thaw or rain.
SOLUTIONS:
- Cleaning the gutters on your home can help prevent ice dams from occurring as quickly. Gutters will be as cold as outside and in some cases, full of frozen debris. Even without a soffit for the water to re-freeze in, the melted water will likely re-freeze when flowing into the gutters.
- Removing snow and ice is a quick fix, but can be dangerous and cause additional damage to shingles or rainspouting. Leave this dirty work to the professionals at Mihalko’s General Contracting.
- Improved attic ventilation and insulation is the best way to reduce damming. By keeping attic space cooler, the snow will melt slower.
- Keep the attic floor well insulated to minimize the heat rising through the attic.
- Install an ice and water guard underlayment between the roof deck and the shingles. This guard does not prevent ice from forming on your roof, but does create a weather tight barrier, protecting your home from melting snow or rain.
- De-icing cables are considered to be the last option only if previous solutions cannot be done.
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