How To Clear An Ice Dam On Roof

The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas.

How to clear an ice dam on roof.

An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home. As more snow melts it will also refreeze when it hits the new ice slowly building up a frozen wall that pushes backward up the roof raising shingles and sliding into unprotected roof sheathing. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. See below for a shopp.

One way to remove an ice dam is to melt it using calcium chloride ice melt. If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position. Ice dams occur when snow on a roof melts but freezes before getting fully clear of the roof. Ice dams are a common sight in northern new england winters and home partners has dealt with quite a few.

Eliminate its fuel source if left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof. It will put gutters and downspouts at risk too. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions.

Fill a woman s stocking with calcium chloride and lay it in position directly over the ice dam in your gutter. Removing an ice dam from your roof immediately after spotting the signs can be critical to helping prevent damage to your home. Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape. Water stains or moisture may be an indication that an ice dam has formed and water has penetrated the roof membrane.

So the first step is to remove this ice and snow using a snow rake which is a retractable rake that can extend up to about 17 feet or so in length. The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow water from draining off the roof.