What is an ICE DAM? What damage do they cause? And what type of contractor would fix the problems?

Home Maintenance Winterizing
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Ice dams form on the eaves of a roof when warm air leaks from the interior heated rooms (conditioned space) into attics or vaulted ceilings. This warmer air heats up the under sides of the roof sheathing and melts the snow or ice piled on the exterior roof surface. The melt water travels down the slope of the roof and refreezes when it hits the colder surfaces at the roofs eaves. As ice accumulates at the edge of a roof a “dam” is formed, and water draining down the plane of a roof is blocked from escaping. With nowhere to go water can seep under shingles and find it’s way inside the building envelope.

Due to the wicking property of water known as capillary action, moisture can travel up the surface of a roof, or through any holes in the sheathing. Once this path is formed water can rapidly accumulate inside ceilings or walls as more ice builds up on the rapidly growing ice dam. Damage from ice dams can be deceptively widespread, and include damage to sheathing and framing, insulation, drywall, painted surfaces, and interior trim. Prolonged moisture damage can cause wood to rot, and major mold issues to develop inside wall and ceiling cavities. Ice dams can cause extensive exterior damage as well including damage to roof shingles, exterior roof trim, siding and corner boards.

A general contractor or remodeler with a wide variety of skills in separate trades will be best, as they can tackle the complex issues caused by ice dams. Sheetrock, insulation, painting, and woodwork could all need to be performed in order to fix the damage.

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Ice dams are a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of the roof and prevents the proper drainage for melting snow. They are formed when the warm portions of the upper roof melt snow and that water flows to the cooler lower portions of the roof where it refreezes on the cold edge. This keeps the liquid from draining properly and backs the water up and underneath the shingles. Ice damming is caused mostly from improper insulation and sealing as well as poor ventilation.

To prevent ice damming you need to keep your roof cool. You can take several steps to do this like sealing all air leaks in the attic floor, using modern insulation techniques at the proper thickness for you geographical location, removing snow from your roof and making sure that your ventilation and exhaust systems are working to their full potential. Installing a metal roof will also help with ice damming. Although ice formations may occur on metal roofs, the design will not allow the melting water to penetrate the surface.

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Ice dams are caused as water from snow melting off a warm roof surface turns to ice as the snowmelt hits a cold unheated roof edge or gutter.

Roofing contractors usually offers services for this.

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for this type of contractor you are looking for a restoration contractor - we will find the water, dry the water, dry the home, and prevent additional damages