How Snow And Ice Impact Your Roof

The melting snow will run down your roof s edges and re freeze to the snow forming an ice dam.

How snow and ice impact your roof.

For most homeowners the prudent course of action when an ice dam forms is to call in a professional for help. This ice dam effect may block your gutters as it sits on top of your roof preventing the water from finding a pathway off. When heavy ice blocks fall on the roof the roofing material gets ruptured and as a result leaking starts. Once the temperature rises further both ice and snow will melt and the water has nowhere to go but to seep into the roof.

If a limb happens to break and land on your roof structural damage could also occur. However the effect of snow and ice on the roofs of our homes is unknown or underestimated by a lot of people. Ice dams can cause major gutter damage and may even tear the flashing off the roof. Slippery pavements treacherous driving conditions and a lot of de icing of windscreens.

In the end this water could work back up under the shingles damaging in the inside of your home. If they do they can cause extensive damage to your walls insulation and more. As it begins to run down your roof it can hit a cold portion of your roof. The snow is likely to melt faster than the ice meaning water will be building up on your roof and it may not be able to escape.

If there is enough ice accumulating on the roof it can form ice dams. An ice dam may form when snow begins to melt above the home s warm interior space and then freezes as it reaches the edge or eaves of the roof. The ice that form creates a dam that prevents proper runoff and can result in serious water damages to the home. If it s a winter with a particularly high amount of snow and if your roof is particularly old there is a higher risk of leaks occurring.

Making the roof leaky. The eaves of your commercial roof are typically cooler than the main portion of your roof which causes melted snow to freeze into ice. If left unchecked all this ice accumulation creates a dam that prevents melted snow from draining off your commercial roof. Even roofs that have been recently installed by our contractors can get badly affected by the snow and ice that comes with the winter and thus it s important to take precautions in order to prevent issues.

Proper attic ventilation is key to the prevention of the formation of ice dams. When many ice pieces fall simultaneously on the roof the impact will be more and the roof gets severely damaged. As one of the premier roofing companies in the northwest chicago suburbs aspen exterior company knows that the winter can take a large toll on your house s roof. Snow has sufficient weight to transmit the impact of the snow fall through different layers of the roof.

The extra weight from snow and or ice has the potential to pull tree limbs down into contact with your roof causing damage to the shingles.