Ice dams are a pervasive and damaging winter roofing problem caused by poor roof ventilation and a warm attic space. Left untreated, ice dams can cause serious damage to your roof, gutters, paint, insulation, drywall, structure and even contribute to mold.

Ice dams form when melting snow on a roof runs off and refreezes at the edge of a roof. This condition occurs when the snow is melted by a warm roof, creating water running between the snow and the warm roof surface, then freezing and turning to ice when it gets past the exterior wall and hits a cold unheated roof edge or gutter. As the bottom of the snow pack continues to melt, water continues to flow down the roof surface until it hits the ice, thereby creating a larger and larger ice dam.

The best solution to stop the ice from forming on the roof is with proper attic insulation.  Cellulose insulation is one of the best performing products at extreme cold temperatures.  Cellulose insulation is easily installed over existing insulation preventing the removal of the current insulation in your home.

We highly recommend you contact a professional insulation contractor to inspect your attic for proper ventilation and to install sufficient amount of insulation as recommended by the Department of Energy.