The holidays are officially here and most of the country has already seen its first snow. These cold temperatures as well as ice and snow can take a toll on area homes and their roofs. It is essential to keep an eye on your roof to avoid ice dams and other roof damaging occurrences. Large amounts of snow and ice can quickly become troublesome, causing ice dams to form as the snow accumulates, melts and accumulates. As the trusted residential roofing contractor for Oakdale and the entire Twin Cities area, we would like to offer up some ways to help prevent damage to your home and its roof this winter.
How do ice dams happen? An ice dam is formed on a slanted roof when heat from the attic causes snow on the roof to melt. Ice dams are also often the result of a warm attic. So, the key to preventing ice dams is keeping your roof cold. One of the best ways to do so is by ensuring you have proper insulation and ventilation. It is essential your attic is properly insulated so be sure to upgrade your insulation in order to prevent damaging ice dams. Choose an insulation with a high R-value to reduce heat loss by conduction. It is also important to improve attic ventilation. Allowing heated air to escape in a controlled manner will help keep the roof colder which will reduce the melting of the snow.
It is also important to ensure your roof doesn’t have any leaks or weak spots. When ice dams form, water then builds up behind the ice dam where it can seep under shingles and into the house. The telltale sign of an ice dam is a lot of icicles or a large icicle hanging from the roof. You might also find ice in your gutters or downspouts which will cause water to back up behind it and into the house.
You can also help protect your roof by removing snow from your roof. But be extremely careful and don’t try to chip through any ice as this can cause damage to your shingles. And 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 residential roofing contractor to steam it off.
Ready to get some help with your roofing this winter? Contact our roofing contractor serving Oakdale and the surrounding areas by calling JTR Roofing at 651-777-7394 or contact us.
