Roofers warn that warm weather could lead to formation of ice dams

Warm weather has returned to Saskatchewan after the province spent an extended period of time under extreme cold warnings.

As the temperatures continue to climb above 0 C, snow is expected to melt, and with that comes the growing concern of ice dams forming on roofs.

“Ice damming in general is along the outside wall of your home, where your roof extends two feet over one side,” said Greg Wintringham, the owner of Wintringham Roofing.

“When the snow starts to melt on your house, it goes down the roof, hits that outside wall and now it’s colder down there because there is no heat loss.”

Ice dams can cause serious issues for homeowners.

“The biggest harm an ice dam brings is interior damage,” Wintringham said. “It doesn’t really do anything to the roof deck (and) doesn’t really hurt the shingles. (But) insulation can get wet. Mould isn’t really that much of an issue unless you have an older home.”

Older homes in general or homes built before the 1980s are more prone to seeing ice dams compared to houses built after the ’80s, explained Wintringham.

Wintringham added that ice dams can form because of the smallest things.

“They can pop up from simple little things like your neighbour putting a second storey on their home,” he said. “(In) the shade from a tree (or) the shade on your roof, the snow won’t melt. (On) the sunny part, it will.”

Wintringham explained the best thing people can do to prevent ice dams on bungalows is to use a roof rake and shovel off the first eight to 10 feet of snow.

The valley of a roof — the area where wings of a house or a garage and a house connect — is the area that has the highest risk of ice damming.

If homeowners do find themselves dealing with ice dams, Wintringham warns people to not go up on their roof and start using an axe on the ice.

“If you hit the ice, it will take the rocks off your shingles and then your shingles won’t last long enough,” said Wintringham. “(The) best thing to do (is) remove any loose snow (and) expose the ice to the UV rays that are naturally in the air.”

Ben Abramoff of Riptide Roofing said some people put salt on the ice dam to try and get rid of it.

“I don’t know if I recommend it for sure, but it does work,” said Abramoff. “You can have a heat trace installed on your roof.”

Ice damming isn’t expected to be as big of an issue this winter, explained Wintringham.

Last year roofing companies got up to 30 calls a day about ice dams forming on people’s roofs.