Heat tape melts snow and ice before it can form into icicles on your gutters and roof.
Ice cycles on roof.
Using a long handled roof rake to removing the snow from at least at lower 4 feet of roof edge can help prevent ice dams from forming.
Next snow melts on the warm roof and then freezes on the cold eaves.
This sets up a vicious cycle.
Ice dams happen when ice melts trickles down the roof then freezes again.
This scenario is often the result of a warm attic.
An ice dam can work its way beneath the shingles of your home and loosen them.
Call us at 1 800 ice dams if you have an ice dam on your roof and live anywhere in the lower 48 including in hard hit minnesota illinois and wisconsin.
They re also an early warning that.
You can end the leaks with a phone call to ice dam guys.
If you see icicles hanging from your roof you most likely have an ice dam.
Copper tubing in the heat tape uses 120 volts of electricity to deice your roof and gutters.
When using roof rake use light pressure to avoid scraping the shingles too hard.
Heat loss ice dams roof leaks insulation damage more heat loss.
Finally ice accumulates along the eaves forming a dam.
Icicles aren t just minnesota décor.
Cellulose insulation is particularly vulnerable to the hazards of wetting.
First heat collects in the attic and warms the roof except at the eaves.
Never get onto a roof to remove snow in the winter.
An ice dam is caused by a buildup of ice in your gutters.
If dams are a serious threat to your roof the problem is usually due to poor ventilation.
As the temperature fluctuates the snow on your roof melts sending water down to the gutters.
Water often leaks down inside the wall where it wets wall insulation and causes it to sag leaving uninsulated voids at the top of the wall.
This warm air heats the snow at the peak of the roof and the resulting water runs down the roof until it freezes near the frozen edges.
This is the only safe way to remove snow from a roof.
So icicles hanging from a roof s edge may be a sign of an ice dam.
These dams can tear apart your home so limit them by keeping your roof clear of snow.
This ice builds up creating a thick ridge of ice and backs up under shingles into the soffit and on the underside of the sheathing in a cycle of freezing and melting that stresses the shingles may tear off.
This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing.
Ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge.
Here s a breakdown of the conditions that lead to the formation of ice dams.
The water refreezes inside your gutters turning the overflow into icicles.
Ice dams form when warm air from inside your home melts snow on the roof.
