Recently, the greater Northern Virginia area saw anywhere from about five to ten inches of snow. Some homes ended up with ice dams as a result of the area’s biggest snow event in years. There are few reasons ice dams happen. First, clogged gutters. Second, insufficient attic insulation. And sometimes, a third reason; insufficient ventilation.
Clean Your Gutters
When you don’t clean your gutters, the water can’t flow down them, either from snow melt or rain before or after a freeze. When the water in the gutters freezes, it has nowhere to go other than over
the edge of the gutters. This creates the lovely, but dangerous, icicles which are exactly how an ice dam starts. As the snow on your roof begins to melt or melts from insufficient ventilation or insulation, the
water continues to go over the edge of the gutters and the ice dam grows.
Do You Have Enough Attic Insulation?
Insulation recommendations have changed over the past few decades. If your home was built before about 1985, you likely don’t have sufficient insulation for today’s recommendations. If you’ve had a roof
leak or an exhaust vent fail, your insulation may have become wet. Wet insulation no longer does its job and leads to a warm attic which leads to ice dams. Even if you have a newer home check to make sure
your insulation is filled to the rafters. Some home builders don’t follow the recommendations and if you built and never had an independent home inspection, you may not even know you’re short on insulation.
Proper Ventilation to Attic Ratio
You might have insufficient attic ventilation if you notice that your upstairs rooms are hot in the summer. Other signs are an attic that feels damp consistently and ice dams in winter. Your roofer can calculate how much attic ventilation you need and compare it to what you need. Depending on a few different factors, they’ll either follow the 1/150 or the 1/300 rule. Trust Peak Roofing Contractors with Your Roofing Needs Whether you have a roof leak, noticed ice dams during the snow earlier in January, or aren’t sure about the state of your roof, call Peak Roofing Contractors. We offer roofing inspections, repair and roof replacement. If we find you don’t have enough insulation, ventilation, or need new gutters, we’ll help with that as well. Call us today and prevent further ice damming and the damage it causes. Reach us at (703) 753-4585 or fill out our contact for today.
