The causes, removal and prevention of roof ice damming.

Ice dams are large areas of ice that build up near the lower edge of your roof when melting snow freezes as it contacts the cold edge of your roof and rain gutter.

The buildup of ice blocks subsequent snow melt from running off the roof and allows water to pool and then leak under your existing shingles and into your house.

Symptoms include, major icicles forming on the gutter, icicles behind the gutter, icicles hanging from the soffit vents, and leaks and stains along the interior and exterior ceiling and walls. Ice dam leaks can also ruin your roof sheathing, rot the gutter board and soffit, and loosen the gutter, shingle, and drip edge fasteners.

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Ice Dams and Roof Leaks near Cleveland, Ohio

Repair and Prevention of Ice Dams
Roof and Attic Ventilation

These are some typical examples of ice damming and the resulting roof leaks from houses located  near Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

Ice dams are usually caused by a couple different factors all working together at the same time.
Warm attic space and sun induced snow melt on the roof will cause water to run down the roof to the cold eaves of the house. Where the water meets the cold roof edge it freezes and builds up into an ice dam causing a pool of water. Eventually this water finds it's way under the roofing and into the house.

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Ice dam prevention with snow removal.

If you know,  from prior years of experience, that  you may have a problem with ice dams and have not yet solved the underlying issues, short term ice dam prevention can be accomplished by removing the snow from your roof before the ice dam forms.

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Ice dam leak prevention. Installing soldered copper roof flashing to prevent water leaks due to ice and water backup at the roof edge.

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