Homeowners should be proactive to prevent ice dams as thaw approaches, experts say

The weather is expected to warm up this week, which is good news. But it could also bring problems for property owners.

All of the snow and ice from recent storms and bitter cold that’s built up on roofs is about to melt — and could cause “ice damming.” Ice dams on a roof can trap water, preventing it from draining and causing it to back up under the shingles and flood underneath the roof area and leak into a home. The damage that ensues could end up being costly to fix. In some cases it could run into the thousands of dollars.

The problem usually begins in the gutter, according to Jeff Galket, assistant store manager of Stanford Home Center in Plum.

“Water usually freezes in the gutter and the drain pipes and then you have this ice. But when the snow and ice start to melt on the roof first, the gutter is still frozen and the water doesn’t have anywhere to go. So, then it overflows and that’s when you start to get the icicles,” Galket said.

This has been an especially brutal winter, according to meteorologist Chris Leonardi of the National Weather Service in Moon.

“We’ve just gotten into a pattern with a storm track settling right on top of us with the northern edge of the jet stream as well just keeping the cold air in and allowing for almost continuous snow,” said Leonardi.

“We just ended a streak of 17 straight days with at least a trace of snowfall. And the temperatures have been seven degrees below normal this month. It’s allowed the snow to build up and we haven’t been able to get rid of it very easily.”

So, what’s the fix for snow buildup on the roof?

“They do actually make a roof melt. It’s calcium chloride. They have tablets that you can actually put in your gutters and there is a roof heat cable that actually works pretty well. It doesn’t get really hot but it’s warm enough that it doesn’t allow the snow to really build up,” said Galket. “You can actually use hot water in your gutters but that’s not easy for a lot of people to do.”

Galket said roof rakes, a long handled item with a flat piece of metal at one end, can also help pull snow from the roof. Ultimately the best thing homeowners can do to avoid these kinds of problems is to take preemptive measures, like making sure your gutters are clean before bad weather hits.

“Have your gutters cleaned in the fall so you don’t have all those leaves and gunk in there and everything, because that isn’t going to help things,” said Galket. “The biggest thing is to stay on top of it. Don’t wait until it’s so bad that you have a foot of snow on your roof. It’s usually too late at that point.”

Dean Hawk with Hepler’s Hardware in New Stanton agreed that it’s too late for anyone with a buildup of snow and ice on their roof to do much about it now. He is emphatic, however, about what not to do.

“I sure as hell wouldn’t put any salt up on my roof,” he said. “People are going to do what they do, but I don’t think it would be very good for the shingles, it could cause damage. It’s not good for aluminum, which is what your gutters are made out of.”

Hawk recommends heat treatments for roofs and gutters. “They go along the bottom layer of the shingles and you plug them in in winter when the ice starts,” he said. “If you don’t have that and we have this rain and snow and then it melts and it freezes again and keeps building up, you don’t have a chance.

“It hasn’t happened much in the past few years because we haven’t had any snow really. But people are running into this problem this year more than not.”

So what should people do about the problem?

Doug Arnold Jr., plumbing dept. manager for Arnold’s Hardware in Harrison recommends cleaning out those clogged gutters but doing it with professional help.

“You don’t want to suggest a homeowner go up on a ladder and try to clear them out. If you’re a homeowner that doesn’t have the proper equipment and they just throw an old rickety ladder up there, and they fall off, it’s definitely not worth anybody getting hurt,” said Arnold. “Find a good licensed local contractor that would do that. You want (to find) somebody that has the right tooling, the right setup and the right ladders in order to do that.”