Winter Safety: Ice Dams

3-Mar-2015 Gordon Atlantic Staff

Winter Safety: Ice Dams

PreventicedamswithhomeownersfromAndrewGGordonIncInsurance-1 What are ice dams?

Ice dams are created when snow accumulates on your roof and the heat from your home melts some of this snow. As it then slides down toward the edge of your roof it can refreeze, creating a dam that causes ice and water to back up under roofing materials. The short term result can be mold. The longer term effects include structural damage, interior ceiling and wall damage, possibly even major leaks that can damage personal belongings and floors.

What should you do to prevent this? You can break a channel into the ice dam so the water can flow down (or if you're like my dad in this picture, get a ladder and completely hammer the ice away... though this isn't the safest technique so maybe hire a professional to do it instead). Definitely don't use a crazy power tool that may only cause additional harm to your roof! You could also take some old, long socks and fill them with calcium chloride (NOT rock salt) and lay them perpendicular to the edge of the roof.

Check out this video of Geoff Gordon explaining ice dams, including how to open them up safely and let the water drain to prevent damage to your home.