Glenn Haege: The Handyman

Roof maintenance can help avoid ice dams

You have probably heard me say the phrase "water always wins" a thousand times on my radio show. That is especially true during the winter, when water becomes even more hazardous to your home in the forms of snow and ice.

Snow on your roof is part of winter, but it's not good if your home is the first one in the neighborhood to have melting snow on the roof and icicles hanging from your gutters. Because we have frequent freeze-and-thaw cycles in Michigan, melting snow can turn into ice dams when it refreezes, and that can cause water damage in your attic and can even cause mold. Ice dams start forming after several days with outside temperatures in the low 20s.

This is caused by warm air that rises into the attic through cracks and crevices, along with insufficient insulation and ventilation that warms the roof deck enough to melt the snow and ice.

One way you can help eliminate the potential for ice dams is to get a roof rake and remove two or three feet of snow away from the edges of your roof.

But remember, roof raking is not easy to do and is only a short-term solution to the ice dam problem. The best solution is to be proactive and focus on your attic insulation.

"When it comes to ice dams, we look at prevention as a three-legged stool," said Gary Kearns of Kearns Brothers Roofing in Dearborn, (888) 355-6700, www.kearnsbrothers.com. "The first leg is insulation, because you need to have the proper attic insulation at an R-49 level to keep the heat inside the living area of your home from escaping into the attic.

"The second leg of the stool is proper attic ventilation, so that the attic stays cool when the sun heats it up or hot air escapes into the attic. It's important to remember that snow melts from the bottom up, not the top down. That means an attic that is too warm will melt the snow and can cause you problems."

Gary said the last leg of the stool is something none of us can control: the weather. "I always tell people if they want to totally avoid ice dams, they need to move to Florida," he added.

While your attic insulation and ventilation are the keys to helping avoid ice dams, they also be can caused by icy gutters that don't drain properly, causing the ice to refreeze. Make sure your gutters and downspouts are free of leaves and other debris and your gutters are aligned properly to allow them to do their job. Also recommended is adding downspout extenders to make sure the melting ice and snow runs away from your foundation and cement, helping to minimize the additional impact it can have on your home.

If you have a lot of trees around your home and have problems keeping your gutters clear of debris, you might want to consider a product like Gutter Brush, (888) 397-9433, www.gutterbrush.com. The Gutter Brush traps leaves and debris in the brush to keep it from blocking the flow of your gutters, and all you need to do is take it out once a year and wash the debris out with a hose.

If your gutters get iced up, here's an old trick learned from the Durst Lumber guys to help melt the ice in the gutters. Cut a few pair of old panty hose and fill each leg with calcium chloride, no rock salt. Knot the open ends and place them on the roof drip edge, just above the gutter.

The calcium chloride will melt through the ice and keep the gutter flowing freely.

Don't let ice dams get the best of you or your home this winter. Do some proactive home maintenance and preparation now and your roof will be ready to handle winter's icy blast and you'll avoid having to call your insurance company to report water damage to your ceilings.

If you would like to suggest a question for this column, e-mail askglenn@masterhandyman.com. If you want to talk to Glenn Haege personally, call his "Handyman Show" on WJR Radio 760 AM at (866) ASK GLENN, (866) 275-4536 between noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The show can be heard on more than 130 radio station.