If you see icicles hanging from your roof you most likely have an ice dam.
New roof leaking from ice.
What is an ice dam.
If you have a leaky roof you d better fix it immediately even if it doesn t bother you much or you re getting a new roof next year.
Even a small roof leak can cause significant damage to a home so it s important to find and correct a problem as soon as it s noticed on the ceiling.
The same goes for snow on decks.
In northern climates ice dams can cause major problems.
This guide will give you some tips on how to find a roof leak and how to fix a leaky roof.
It will put gutters and downspouts at risk too.
The roofs on new england homes and most in the snow belt and northern third of the country are sloped and can easily bear up against snow ice and water weight.
An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home.
Water then pools above the ice and leaks into your roof.
Ice dams happen when ice melts trickles down the roof then freezes again.
Check out this article for more on preventing ice dams.
An ice dam forms as a ridge of ice along the lower edge of your roof and prevents melting snow higher up on the roof from flowing past the dam.
The good news is that many issues with roof leaks commonly found in homes can be easily repaired.
Ice dam roof leaks.
If dams are a serious threat to your roof the problem is usually due to poor ventilation.
An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions.