Gutters And Ice Dams

Ice dams can form in your gutters when rainwater or other precipitation backs up in your gutters and freezes due to cold temperatures in the winter late fall or early spring.

Gutters and ice dams.

One side effect of installing gutter guards on your horizontal runs is they can help to generate ice sickles and dams as water freezes during the winter. Ice dams are a common sight in northern new england winters and home partners has dealt with quite a few. Gutters have a tendency to collect leaves and other debris and that makes gutter guards an important part of your roof s drainage system. Gutters are perfect places for ice dams to form especially if they re already clogged with leaves and debris.

The roof is connected to the interior of the home and sometimes it can be a venue for heat leakage. Meltwater drains down to the eaves or gutters where it refreezes and the accumulating ice makes a dam preventing additional snow melt from draining off. If ignored ice dams can cause serious damage to your roof gutters paint insulation and interior drywall and other surfaces. It will put gutters and downspouts at risk too.

This can also prevent the drainage flow of melted snow and ice through your gutters which can lead to water damage. See below for a shopp. Different from normal icicles ice dams are large buildups of ice on your gutter. An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home.

An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions. If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position. This myth has lingered like a bad smell and has resulted in many puzzled frustrated homeowners. The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof.

People who don t know the science behind ice dams and people who want to sell you a gutter system that supposedly prevents ice dams from forming. This backup is usually caused by clogs in the system that prevent water from flowing into the trough down the spouts and away from your home. Two types of people will tell you that gutters cause ice dams. In part ice dams occur because there is a difference between the heat on the roof and the heat in your gutters.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter.