Preventing and addressing ice dams

12/16/2019 (Permalink)

Ice dam along roof

You may be entranced by the beauty of icicles hanging in the winter time. We even decorate our holiday trees with faux icicles. Unfortunately, these pretty growths can come with a nasty underbelly. 

What causes ice dams?

Icicles hanging off your structure more often than not means you have a build of ice restricting the flow of melt water off of your roof, commonly known as an ice dam. 

As snow on your roof melts from sunlight and internal heat produced by your HVAC system, it runs down where it can freeze when it reaches the eaves, where internal heat from the structure does not reach. 

As the ice dam builds in the eaves, fresh meltwater will try to run off but will get blocked by the ice dam. As this water needs somewhere to disperse, it has a tendency to seep into the structure through the shingles. Water damage from an ice dam can cause numerous headaches for the home owner. 

How can SERVPRO help? If you have damage from an ice dam this winter, SERVPRO of Sioux Falls is here to help. Our expertly trained staff of water loss professionals are able to help you with any damage that stems from an ice dam. We are here to clean up, restore, and build back your home “Like it never even happened.”