Winter guide
Ice dams and your next roof
If your eaves grow a ridge of ice every winter and ceilings stain near the outside walls, the fix is partly on the roof and partly in the attic. A replacement is the moment to deal with both.
How an ice dam forms
Heat escaping from the house warms the roof deck. Snow on the upper roof melts, the water runs down to the eaves, which sit over the cold overhang, and it freezes again. Day after day the ice builds into a dam, and water backs up behind it, under the shingles and into the house.
Shingles shed water running downhill. They were never meant to hold back standing water, which is why ice dams leak even on roofs in decent shape.
At replacement time
What to ask for
Ice barrier membrane
A self-adhered membrane from the eaves up past the line of the inside wall, and in valleys. Ask how far up it runs on your roof.
Ventilation
Soffit intake and ridge exhaust keep the deck cold and even, so snow melts less from below.
Air sealing
Gaps around lights, chimneys and attic hatches leak warm air. That work is inside the house, but it changes how the roof behaves.
Insulation
More insulation on the attic floor keeps heat in the house and off the roof.
Gutters and drip edge
Proper drip edge and gutters that drain help, though gutters alone don't stop ice dams.
Low roofs below tall ones
Porch and addition roofs collect snow sliding from above. Plan the edge details for it.
Cape cods and dormers
Capes with finished upstairs rooms are prone to ice dams because the knee walls and sloped ceilings leave little room for insulation and airflow. If that sounds like your house, ask the contractor how they plan to vent the roof, and whether insulation work should happen before the new roof goes on.
Removing ice by chipping or with tools on the roof damages shingles. If ice is building up now, plan the long-term fix with the replacement.
Tired of ice dams?
Plan the new roof with the attic in mind
One call puts you through to an independent roofing contractor serving Norwalk, Westport, Darien, New Canaan and Wilton. Ask for an inspection and a written price for the new roof.
Replacing your roof? Talk it through with a local roofing contractor.
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