Ice Sickles On Roof

Small icicles along the edge of your roof.

Ice sickles on roof. Ice dams form when warm air from inside your home melts snow on the roof. An ice dam is caused by a buildup of ice in your gutters. Tap small icicles off your roo f before they have a chance to get bigger. There are many ways to treat the symptoms but proper air sealing insulation and attic venting are the best way to eliminate the problem.

Your response to those little icicles should be to break out your fancy new roof rake and remove the snow from your roof. This can cause one of two problems 1 icicles 2 ice dams. Icicles have to attach somewhere on your roof which means there s more ice up there. You can keep those baby ice dams from getting bigger or you can let them grow into big n hairy ice dams that may cause leaking and heartache.

Remove the snow from your overhangs at the very least. Ice dams form along the roof s edge usually above the overhang. As the temperature fluctuates the snow on your roof melts sending water down to the gutters. Though icicles are beautiful to look at they can also be a sign that an ice dam is forming under your roof.

Be careful if you need to use a ladder. When it comes to icicles on gutters the warm air causes the underside of the roof to warm up and can thaw snow and ice. So icicles hanging from a roof s edge may be a sign of an ice dam. When the meltwater reaches the colder eaves the part of the roof that extends beyond the walls the water refreezes and creates a buildup of ice along the edge of your roofline says this old house.

Gently does it when dislodging large icicles. And never stand directly beneath an ice formation use a wooden stick to.