Protecting Your Roof
Protecting the roof of your home is the first and probably most important step to protecting for the long-term life of any home. Roof leaks are clearly a huge problem in any residence but knowing the connection between melting snow and roof leaks can help a homeowner prevent one of the main problems that many homes face. When snow melts and trickles down the roof it will refreeze as it reaches the edge of the roof and into gutter. You’ve probably stood back and look with astonishment at these ice dams that form, but these can unknowingly cause havoc on the integrity of your roof. However, they are relatively easy to prevent and doing so will without a doubt save you money and distress in the future.
How ice dams form.
The heat from your house melts the snow on the top of your roof because this is the warmest section of your roof. As the melted snow flows down the roof below the snow it then reaches the edge of the roof, which is around sub zero temperature; this decline in temperature causes the water from the melted snow to refreeze producing the dams that you often see hanging off of people’s rooftops in winter. The weight of these dams can cause a dilemma itself, however, the real problem occurs when added melting snow collects in pools next to the dams. This water eventually leaks through the roof and into the home. Understanding this correlation better melting snow and roof leaks can be the first step to preventing it.
Protection for the fragile parts of your roof.
In a majority of cases you can use a rubber film that is attached directly to the roof and the shingles are then added on top. The film is in fact self-healing so the rubber will seal around the nail holes produced when attaching the shingles. This means that the weak areas of your roof will be covered in the event of ice dams forms. This can be an effective way to control melting snow and roof leaks in older roofs that are not being replaced.
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