Pittsburgh Roof Ice Dams Finally Explained

Pittsburgh PA

26 February, 2021

10:55 PM

Description

Let me guess, you noticed a brown stain on your ceiling in the dead of winter when your children were throwing football around the living room on Super Bowl Sunday when they broke your precious leg lamp replica from the movie Christmas Story. You automatically assume your roof has sprung a leak and begin to panic. Without hesitation you decided to jump online and call your most trusted local Pittsburgh roofing company at Peak Precision Contracting. Take a few minutes to read Pittsburgh Roof Ice Dams finally Explained! Upon my arrival to your home as I drove cautiously spinning my wheels effortlessly to make it to the top of the driveway through a vast covered blanket of snow I looked up at the roof line to discover an army of icicles standing their battlegrounds hanging on to the gutters for fear of defeat if they fall. The roof beyond the eaves was melting the snow at a pace resembling a wax candle to a flame. That slow burn to the beautiful white snow began to melt until it met the cold, frozen eaves once again to fuel the ice army’s regime. The ice army grew stronger and larger in size as it began its path into the underside of the shingles finding the roads less traveled meeting at rusted, raised, pierced nail fasteners, nonexistent ice and water barrier, and gaps within the roof sheathing. The ice army was met with a surge of heat and turned into fluid water droplets as it infiltrated the roof bypassing levels of defense mechanisms such as synthetic felt paper, roof sheathing, insulation, and drywall until it met Peak Precision Contracting! Pittsburgh Ice Dam Solutions How Do You Prevent Pittsburgh Ice Dams From Forming? Adequate Insulation—Hire a professional Pittsburgh roofer to address your concerns. You want the attic as cold as possible. Boost your attic insulation and think like warm air does and stop its penetrations paths. A thick layer of insulation will keep the warm air in the living spaces of your home not trapped in the attic. If the attic is partially heated, provide soffit vents and a ridge vent. Install polystyrene tunnels above the insulation, just under the roof to carry air from the soffits to the ridge vent. Insulate the attic floor or add insulation if it is already installed. Make sure, there is no insulation in the overhang that could block soffit vents and cause other problems. Keep in mind a roof needs to breath as we do, and it must have circulation of air flow to and from the roof system. Ensure that soffits are vented and that vents are not blocked at the gable ends. If these vents are inadequate, ice dams and leaks are almost certain. Keep the attic entrance closed. Most homes have a dropdown staircase leading to their attics, but somehave a built-in staircase with a door access. No matter how your home is set up, make sure the attic access stays closed as much as possible and no gaps are present to allow warm air into the attic space. Snow removal—This can be an extremely dangerous task for a homeowner that do not know the dynamics of snow loads on a roof and we certainly do not recommend it, so I would leave it up to the roof professionals. Remove snow from the roof as much as possible without ruining the shingles. Not all the snow has to be removed, but the more the better this is only if you are unable to immediately tackle the real issue causing the ice dams. A roof rake that will remove snow from the edge of the roof prevents ice build-up if used on a regular basis, while protecting eaves. Have damaged gutters repaired, pitched properly, or replaced. Your gutters may contribute to the formation of ice dams if water is unable to effectively flow off your roof. Get these issued resolved as quickly as possible to prevent long term damage. Roofing—A probable long-term cure for leaks from ice dams, though not for the ice dams themselves, is an ice and water membrane barrier that is applied to the roofs eaves, anywhere from 3 feet or more wide laid along the eave edge of the roof, under new shingles. How to Keep the attic entrance closed. Most homes have a dropdown staircase leading to their attics, but some have a built-in staircase with a door access. No matter how your home is set up, make sure the attic access stays closed as much as possible. Hiring The right Company: This may be the most important preventative measure you take for your roof system to be from any leak potential and not just a band aid. Hiring the right roofing specialist that can diagnose and correct the issues at hand will likely lead to a solution involving a newly applied roof utilizing Owens Corning Total Protection Roofing System, the addition of proper ventilation mechanisms to the homes current roof structure, and newly installed insulation barriers. If you have a roof leak or need professional advice, do not hesitate to contact us! Schedule A FREE No-Obligation Estimate Today! Call (412) 498-4299 or Visit Our Website At: https://www.peakprecisionrc.com/