How to Prevent Ice Dams

It's going to snow tomorrow. Lots of snow is going to pile up on roofs all over New Hampshire, and

at the bottoms of a lot of those roofs, ice dams are going to form. And every single one of those ice dams could have been prevented. Here's how:

The cause of ice dams is heat from indoors leaking out and causing some of the snow that's on the roof to melt. This melted snow runs down the roof until it hits the eaves (the overhang, where suddenly there's no heat escaping and everything's cold again) and quickly refreezes. The process continues until there's so much ice built up on top of the eaves that it keeps snow from sliding off. And that's not the worst part. As the ice dam grows, it can creep under shingles. Then when it eventually melts, it can leak into your house, causing water damage.

The best way to prevent ice dams in the long run? Make sure your roof is properly ventilated and your attic is properly insulated.

The best thing to do now to prevent ice dams in tomorrow's storm? If your roof is prone to getting ice dams, rake the eaves off periodically to prevent buildup. If buildup occurs, fill a nylon stocking with magnesium chloride ice melt. (Make sure it's magnesium chloride so you don't damage your roofing materials.) Toss the stocking onto the edge of your roof where the ice is forming and let it melt it off.

Tomorrow's expected to be windy, though, so with any luck, your roof will stay clear.

The Kinds of Roofing New Hampshire Homeowners Can Choose From

We put on this metal roof in Weare.

When it comes to roofing, New Hampshire homeowners have a lot of choices. While there are a few materials that don't stand up well to cold weather, such as terra cotta tile, most roofing materials are still an option. If it's time to replace your roof, or you're building a new house, here are some questions you can ask as you look at your roofing material options:

• Is it appropriate for the pitch (steepness) of your roof?
• How long it will last?
• How heavy is it?
• How well does it match the style of your house?
• How much does it cost to buy?
• How much does it cost to install?
• How much does it cost to maintain?

Some options to consider:

• Asphalt shingles
• Composite
• Wooden shingles
• Slate
• Rubber
• Ballast system
• Membrane
• Metal
• Green roof
• Solar shingles 

If you have any questions about roofing materials, fill out the form to the right, and we'll be happy to help. It's probably an issue we've run into before, because our family has been roofing New Hampshire houses for three generations. 

The asphalt shingle dormered gambrel roof on this shed matches

the roof on the customer's house. That's because we custom-built

the shed to look like a miniature version of the house.

Thanks,

New Hampshire Construction

New Hampshire Homewners, Is Your Roof Trying to Tell You Something?

Next time you're outside, take a look at your roof. Is there snow on it? If you can see where the rafters are by the snow melt pattern, then your house has a heat-loss problem. Or if the snow cover has obvious bare spots, that's a sign of trouble, too.


There are three common roof snow melt patterns:

1. Bare spots. A bare spot in an otherwise snow-covered roof means that heat is leaking out in that location. That probably means you have a hole in your insulation, or that your insulation in that place is compromised in some way. You may even have a family of squirrels living in your attic.
2. Melting between the rafters. If you can see lines of snow over your rafters, then your roof is under-insulated. It's okay if the snow slides off the roof, blows off or melts off with the heat of the sun. But if the snow is disappearing between the rafters and not on top of them, it's not the sun that's melting it. You're paying to heat the sky.
3. Melting on top of the rafters. If you see snow everywhere except on your rafters, then you have a problem called thermal bridging. Thermal bridging occurs when heat conducts out through solid material. Your roof may have plenty of insulation between the rafters, but if the rafters themselves are conducting enough heat to melt snow, your insulation's not doing you a lot of good.

If your roof shows any of these signs of heat loss, it's probably past time to call your contractor. Most homeowners find that the cost of the work is more than made up for in energy savings.

Thanks,

New Hampshire Construction