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ice dam problem

15 years ago

Well, it isn't quite a disaster, but bad enough, and I am looking for some helpful info. I have had an ongoing problem with ice dams on one section of the roof in the 8 years I have owned this house. My first step was to insulate the attic. No ice dams for the first couple of years following that, probably because we had rather mild winters. First normal winter we had the ice dams were back, although not quite as bad as before. Now, over this past weekend, I awoke to find water pooling on the inside of my bow window all over the sill and the floor. The ice dam has been cleared off, but I am concerned because I had the roof replaced a year ago, and the work included the ice/water shield under the 1st 4 feet of the roof. Shouldn't this have prevented the water from coming into the house? The roof replacement also included improving the roof ventilation (added a ridge vent) so I am wondering what else I can do to prevent this problem. Thanks for any helpful suggestions!

Abbey

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Comments (5)

joed
15 years ago
The water must have backed up more than 4 feet.
lindac
15 years ago
Heat tape......put some zigzagging over the 2 or3 feet in from the edge of the roof.
Linda c
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"Ice damns" are basically just a term for when the roof gets warm enough to melt some snow in some areas. The water then can refreeze when it hits a cooler spot like at the overhang. That basically forms a dam that can hold water on the roof. Roofs are designed to let water run off them, not to hold water for any length of time. If the problem persists, the water can work its way up under shingles etc and leak into the house. Obviously, that can be a huge problem. The way to avoid this is to avoid transferring too much heat to the roof during winter. A big open and vented attic accomplishes that in most instances. If you are going to enclose the attic, you will need an effective way of keeping the heat from rising up through the new room and to the roof. The "low tech" way to do that is to make a mini-attic above your new attic room. It doesn't have to be tall, just enough room to keep air flowing. For that to work, you need vents to get air between the roof and the ceiling of your new attic room. The heat needs a way to escape instead of through the roof. The "high tech" way to do it is completely shut off all air flow going up to the roof and insulate the heck out of it with expanding spray foam. That is a less reliable way to do it though because you are just counting on the insulation to keep heat from getting out of your room. If the insulation is compromised for any reason, you'll end up with hot spots on the roof.
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mommabird
15 years ago
We had ice dams this winter, too, and we have 6' of membrane under our shingles! We think the water was going between the gutter & facia board, then running into the window & leaking. It all melted in 1 day so we dind't have to do anything other than DH getting on the ladder & pounding the ice with a hammer, but I did read online that you can fill pantyhose with calcium chloride and lay them on top of the ice in the gutters, and it will melt the ice. If it happens again we will do that.

We have a Cape Cod style house and they are bad for ice dams. Could it be the style of your house?

Do a google search on "ice dam removal" and you'll find a ton of ways to remove - but a lot of the cites mention the panty hose & calcium chloride so it must work.
sherwoodva
15 years ago
Hi, Abbey

We had the same problem about five years ago. Turned out the company that installed the new roof didn't bother with replacing the copper flashing around the chimney because the porch roof connects there - too many angles for them or something. So we paid another company to do it.

You might have someone check whether you have new flashing around the bay window.
abbey_cny
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks all for the replies. I got the ice dam cleared up by my roofer, and had an energy audit done. Turns out the attic insulation job I had done after I first bought the house wasn't done so well. Soffit vents are blocked by insulation, and there isn't enough insulation at the edge of the roof. I have a split level, and the area where the ice dams always form is where my upper roof meets/overhangs my lower roof, and water appears to run down from my upper roof to my lower roof (above the roof membrane) and then pools, freezes, etc. on the edge of the lower roof. So more insulation is in my future, and this time it should do the work, along with clearing the soffit vents. I am hopeful, anyways. Gotta love winter, lol.

Abbey

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