Key Ice Dam Prevention Tips
Minimize Warm Air: Identify and Seal Air Pathways To Your Attic
Measure Attic Insulation: Determine the R-Value of your Attic Insulation
Add Additional Floor Pads: Adding More Floor Pads Will Help Prevent Heat from Escaping
Ensure Ventilation: Ensure The Roof Includes Either Soffit Vents or One Foot of Gable Ventilation (or an Alternative Roof ventilation) Per 150 square feet of The Attic Floor
One winter issue that you may need to worry about, particularly if you have a metal roof, is what is known as an ice dam. An ice dam is where ice and water become trapped on a portion of the roof and catches any flowing water. This can be particularly bad for your roof.
Ice dams can cause a number of different issues for your metal roof. The water can get under the metal shingles, raising them up and leaking water down onto the roof below. This can cause heat loss as well as damage to your attic space as well as further structural damage to the wood surrounding that area.
What Causes Ice Dams to Form?
This occurs when the heat that is inside the house rises up to the attic space. There it continues to rise until it reaches the apex of the roof.
That warm air then warms up the top of the roof itself; this causes the snow that has built up there to melt, and that water runs down the surface of the roof.
When it reaches the colder edges that are at the bottom of the roof, that water then refreezes and forms a wall of ice (or a dam). That ice then traps additional water, causing icicles and additional ice and water to build up.
Preventing Ice Dams on Your Roof
So, what can you do to prevent those ice dams from building up and causing substantial damage to your metal roof over the winter? Here are a few helpful tips that can go a long way toward keeping your metal roof protected.
1) Minimize The Impact of Warm Air
The flowing of warm air really aids in the buildup of water, which then causes the ice dams to form. In order to prevent the ice dams from forming, you need to ensure that the warm air is kept to a minimum when flowing outward to the roof.
You can do this by first sealing the air leaks that can lead to the attic space. Locate those little pathways where the warm air can rise up inside the attic and make sure that they are properly insulated. This is an effective long-term solution to solving the ice dam problem that plagues so many metal roofs.
The first step is properly identifying those holes and then sealing them. You can use something like weather stripping to make sure that they are properly insulated and then make sure to seal all of the holes through which that warm air can escape into the attic.
2) Measure Attic Insulation
The next step is measuring your attic insulation so you can bring up the level of the attic floor if necessary. Most homes within a snow-belt zone will be required to have a level of attic insulation that is around R-49, as rated by Energy Star.
Older homes are generally not properly insulated, which means that you have to have additional floor insulation added to your home’s attic. To do this, you need to find out what the current level of insulation is in your attic.
You can grab a ruler and measure the height of the insulation in your attic and then multiply that height in inches by 3.14, and that will give you your attic’s current floor insulation R-Value.
If your level of insulation isn’t where it needs to be, you will have to purchase additional levels of energy-efficient floor insulation pads for your attic to ensure that it is properly insulated from the cold. This will help keep your roof from getting those annoying ice dam buildups.
Icicles are just part of the problem with ice dams. You may have to buy floor insulation pads for your attic to insulate it from the cold.
3) Add Additional Attic Floor Pads
One of the most important things to do here is to ensure that you are not putting the insulation into corners where the attic floor and the roof walls wind up meeting.
This is because it can create something of a cold area near the edge of the roof; this can contribute to ice dam formation, and it can block the air in-flow as well.
That additional attic floor padding will help to properly insulate your roof so as to keep it protected and to keep that additional heat from escaping into the roof itself.
That additional insulation will go a long way towards preventing the buildup of ice and water, which leads to those pesky ice dams building up on your roof.
4) Ensure Proper Attic Ventilation
Next, make certain that your attic is also ventilated properly. First, you need to check to see if you have soffit vents installed. These are designed to drive cold air into the attic, and you will be in good shape if you have them.
If you don’t have soffit vents, then you will need to have gable vents installed as an alternative. Generally speaking, you want to have one foot of that gable ventilation or any alternative roof ventilation for every 150 square feet of your attic floor.
When you ensure that you have proper ventilation, you prevent the buildup of heat that can melt water and cause it to become trapped in areas of your roof, causing those troublesome ice dams to form.
It might be a bit of a hassle, but ensuring that those ice dams do not form can mean the difference between a properly functioning roof and one that can become damaged and cause issues with your roof.
Final Thoughts on Ice Dam Prevention
Prevent ice dams with these relatively easy steps, and you can ensure that your metal roof holds up during even the toughest of winters. The key points to remember are minimizing warm air, measuring attic insulation, adding more floor pads (if necessary), and ensuring proper attic ventilation.
