How To Prevent Ice Dams This Winter

As most Maine homeowners know, ice dams can be extremely damaging, causing significant amounts of damage to your roof. However, preventing them from occurring is much easier than most homeowners realize, and you can save yourself time, money & energy by doing a bit of preventative maintenance to stop ice dams from forming to begin with! Interested in learning more about how you can prevent ice dams this winter? Take a look at our blog to get started!

How Do Ice Dams Form?

First, let’s do a quick reminder of how ice dams form. Over the course of the winter, snow will accumulate on your roof. As it lays on your shingles, the heat escaping through your attic will heat the snow, causing it to melt. This snowmelt will run down your shingle system, where it reaches your gutters. At this point, it is no longer being heated by your attic, and it allows the water to freeze in your gutters. This process will repeat itself throughout the winter until eventually, large blocks of ice have formed in your gutters, and these ice blocks will hold water onto your shingles, causing damage. Now that we understand what ice dams are and how they form, let’s discuss how to prevent them!

Preventing Ice Dams

When it comes to prevention, there are a couple of different routes to take. The most extreme and direct solution is to have zinc strips installed at the edge of your gutter system to help melt the snow and keep everything moving. This solution will work will, but it is often a last ditch effort to prevent a major ice dam problem. For the majority of homeowners, the solution can be much easier.

For most homeowners, you can prevent ice dams by properly ventilating your attic. The reason this method works is because ice dams are created when your attic is warmer than the outside air, causing the snow on the shingles to melt. With proper ventilation, your attic will be the same temperature as the outdoors, which means as long as it’s cold enough for the snow to stay frozen, it will remain frozen. Have a roofing professional come and assess your system, and determine whether your attic needs a bit more ventilation in order to prevent these ice dams!

Contact Us Today

Are you interested in replacing your home’s roof this winter? Our team at Oceanside Exteriors has you covered! Reach out to our team today by calling us at (207) 310-7659 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roof installation & replacement needs!