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Prevent Ice Dams Gutters

September 21st, 2011 |

Ice Dams and Window Condensation Come With Colder Temperatures

It’s cold outside. Really cold. Single digits today with wind chills below zero. It’s the sort of day when the weather people tell you how quickly exposed skin will develop frostbite and warn you to stay inside if you can and bundle up with extra care if you can’t. It’s good advice.

Unfortunately, these are also the days when a lot of homeowners start to notice some “exposures” around their house, as well. Two of the most common problems that homeowners report when the temperatures dip this low are window condensation and ice dams. If left unchecked, either one of these can cause damage that’s expensive to repair.

Both problems – condensation on windows and ice dams – are created by fairly complex factors and quick fixes are in short supply. Understanding why they happen is the first step to controlling them.

How Do Ice Dams Form?

Ice dams form when snow collects on a roof and then slowly melts from the peaks downward. As the water from this melting snow runs down the roof, it refreezes in the gutters and along the roof edge. This forms icicles and ice dams. Of course, in order for the snow to melt in the first place, there has to be a heat source. That heat source is almost always a drafty attic with inadequate insulation.

The weight of an ice dam can quickly become enough to rip gutters off a house and even damage the roof structure. Furthermore, water that backs up behind an ice dam can get under the roofing and find its way into walls and ceilings. The potential for costly damages to your home from an ice dam are significant.

The only real cure is seal the drafts and install additional attic insulation. Fortunately, this work can be done anytime of the year. So if you see icicles forming around the edge of your roof, now is the time to do something about it. Don’t try and hold out for spring – call us today and let us install a radiant barrier in your attic and take other steps to prevent the heat loss that leads to ice dams.

Why Does Window Condensation Occur?

The short answer is: warm air meets cold surface, water that was in the gaseous state turns to the liquid state – condensation. Typically, we’ve thought of this as a “bad window” issue. But in fact, even the best modern replacement windows can suffer from condensation when the temperatures outside plummet to single digits and the temperature and humidity inside the house remains constant. The trick is to moderate the amount of moisture inside the house, based on the temperatures outside the house.

Again, that’s an oversimplified answer. I wrote a more detailed explanation of the problems and solutions in response to a question I received from a homeowner. You can read that here.

The important thing to remember is that there are steps you can take to eliminate these problems in your home and stop the damage before it starts.

About the Author

Brian Buresh founded Buresh Home Solutions in 2003 and has been providing home improvement services to home owners in Central Iowa since its inception. BHS is full-service home improvement company, offering kitchen and bathroom remodeling, basement finishing, siding installation, roofing, interior and exterior painting, handyman services, and much more. BHS service territory includes areas within a 60-mile radius of Des Moines and over 70% of all of BHS business comes from referrals from past customers.

Visit to learn more.

Prevent Ice Dams On Roof

Easy Heat ADKS-500 100-Foot Roof De-Icing Cable

$30.00

Cable helps prevent damage by ice build up in gutters, downspouts, and under shingles. Cable maintains a clear path for water drainage. Installs easily with special clips to hold cable securely to roof without damage. Spacers and instructions in each package. Preassembled in several lengths. Can be used with roof de icing control, model…

M-D Building Products 64469 40-foot Roof & Gutter Heating Cable

$36.61

Prevents costly water damage from melting ice and snow; ready to install; attachment clips included; use with metal, vinyl or plastic gutters and downspouts….

Dams

$69.96

Dams

The Future of Large Dams

$58.5

'This pragmatic guide could prevent multimillion dollar errors in the future and could at last help reverse the impoverishment of dam-affected people.' Robert Goodland Former Chief Environmental Adviser World Bank Group 'A practical balanced and cautionary text replete with stories from 50 years of wandering the globe and studying its peoples and their ways told by an instinctive storyteller.' David McDowell former Director General of IUCN and New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations 'Thayer Scudder has stepped out of his role as one of the World Commission on Dams' chorus to provide a solo performance that none could control or predict.' Kader Asmal South African MP and Chair World Commission on Dams 1997-2000 'Scudder offers the reader the human face of large dams past present and future: the resettlement of populations benefits of hydroelectric power water resource development flood control and disruption of ecosystems. Will there be large dams in our global future? Yes he concludes but the historic paradigm of large dam costs and benefits is now shown to be fatally flawed. We require a new paradigm. This book sets forth the guiding principles.' James J. Morgan Professor of Environmental Engineering Science Caltech and Stockholm Water Laureate 1999 'Thayer Scudder adds a human dimension that is surprisingly often ignored or inadequately understood in the planning and building of large dams.' Nature Viewed by some as symbols of progress and by others as inherently flawed large dams remain one of the most contentious development issues on Earth. Building on the work of the now defunct World Commission on Dams Thayer Scudder wades into the debate with unprecedented authority. Employing the Commission's Seven Strategic priorities Scudder charts the 'middle way' forward by examining the impacts of large dams on ecosystems societies and political economies. He also analyses the structure of the decision-making process for water resource development and tackles the highly contentious issue of dam-induced resettlement illuminated by a statistical analysis of 50 cases.