Last year was one of the worst winters for ice damage to homes. It seems almost everyone I talked with had some form of damage. Whether it was damage to the roof itself, the gutters, the inside of the home, or a complete roof collapse, it was disheartening to see so many home owners suffer!
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are things you can do to try and prevent this from happening. Here are just a few…
1, Make sure your gutters are cleaned out. Leaves and debris can cause the gutters to back up and ice to form on your roof. Winter storms build up snow on the roof. Heat from the building (through insulation, chimneys, and roof vents) and from the sun (solar gain) causes roof snow-melt. Melted snow runs down roof lines to valleys and eaves. The melted snow refreezes at the base of the valleys and at the roof eaves. As day/night time temperatures cycle up and down, the ice dams and icicles continue to grow and cause damage to your home.
2, Make sure you remove excess snow from your roof throughout the winter. This cuts down on the amount of snow melting and as a result, less water in your gutter to freeze and build up. The best way to do this is with a roof rake. Scrape as much as you can off for the best results. You may want to get a roof rake now. Once the snowstorms start, they are next to impossible to find!
3, Install an Ice Melt System. Here at Newhouse & Sun, we offer state-of-the-art Roof Ice Melt Systems. For more information, visit our Ice Melt information page HERE or call us at (978) 657-7274
Newhouse & Sun Construction 