“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That’s triply true in the case of ice dam damage.
Why? Because folks make the mistake of thinking the damage is all external–on your roof or under your shingles. But the worst and most expensive damage is actually inside your home.
Wet and Settling Insulation
The snow melt that doesn’t freeze again backs up through cracks in your roofing. Trickling down to your ceiling and walls, it will soak your insulation, causing it to collapse or settle and lose its R-value.
Stained Ceiling and Walls
That soggy insulation holds water against drywall and other materials for days. The result? Large stains appear, often accompanied by puckering or flaking. Even when dry, these stained patches have lost their integrity and will need to be replaced, not just repainted.
Cracked and Peeling Plaster
The same holds true for plaster walls and stucco buildings. Excess water gradually saturates the material, which partially dissolves and weakens. Again, the area has to be completely dried before getting scraped and replastered.
Soffit and Siding Paint
Snow melt inside the roof will often fill the empty space underneath the eaves where air ventilates through the soffits. Over time, this will wear down both soffit and siding, especially as temps continue to fluctuate over the winter.
Structural Rot, Mold and Mildew
The longer excess water sits inside your home, the more places it creates for mold, mildew, and rot to take hold. This becomes not only a health hazard for breathing and immune systems but a safety hazard as well. Roofs are heavy, and the added weight of snow or ice puts extra pressure on the framing of your home.
But before this ever happens…
You can have your ice dams removed quickly and affordably by a professional service like ours. We use temperature-controlled steam to melt your ice dam without increasing the water runoff, and we reduce the burden on your eaves, gutters, and soffits.
To get an estimate or book an appointment for ice dam removal service, contact us here.