MN Roofing Issues for the Winter are Just Ahead

During the winter, you have plenty of weather related roofing concerns. You have to make sure that your sidewalk is salted down, your driveway is shoveled clear, and your pipes aren’t going to burst. You don’t want to have to have another issue on your mind, but if you don’t have proper attic ventilation then you might have to worry about ice dams on top of your roof.

What are Ice Dams?

Ice dams are ice formations along the edge of your roof that stop snow from melting and moving off of your roof. It gathers behind the dam, potentially causing issues with moving under your shingles, soaking through to attic insulation, damaging paint, and cracking sheet rock. Needless to say, you want to do everything you can to avoid this.

What causes them?

Photo Credit: umn.edu

Ice dams are caused by three distinct elements that have to be present before they form. The first is snowfall directly on your roof. The second is rising heat from your attic or home. The third is freezing temperatures. As the snow melts from the heat coming from your home, the water travels to the edge of the roof. However, as it moves from the insulated areas of your roof to uninsulated parts, it has the potential to freeze before dripping down.

Since you need all three elements at the same time to cause ice dams, removing one of those elements avoids the entire issue. You certainly can’t stop it from snowing or being cold out, but you can control where the warm air from your attic goes. You vent the warm air from the attic properly to avoid the bulk of the problem. The attic insulation also plays a part in stopping the heat from melting the snow.

This is the type of job that isn’t exactly do it yourself. You have to make sure that both the ventilation and insulation are sufficient to stop this problem from happening. A professional company such as the J and B Roofing can help you out with this problem. They will also be able to identify points of damage caused by the pooled water at the ice dam and advise you on methods of fixing this.

JandB Roofing, Siding, Gutters
941 16th Ave N  South St Paul, MN 55075
(651) 457-039