Solid Rock Roofing has twenty years of experience of attempting to control ice dams. We have learned and continue to learn effective techniques in the very difficult job of keeping water out of homes caused by ice. Ice has sculpted Earth since time began and every winter attempts to move and dislodge roofing and flashing elements on your home.Simply put, ice happens.

The length of ice dams is equal to the length of gutters on any house. In other words, all homes have ice dams. Fortunately, most ice dams do not present any problems for homeowners. The problem comes when the ice dams are large enough to impound large volumes of water that eventually backup and enter the home. In the past several years, the product called ice and water membrane has been widely marketed to fight ice damming. It is a sticky-backed material 3 foot wide that is applied to the roof deck beneath the shingles. The manufacturer advises placement along all eaves over heated space as well as around roof penetrations such as chimneys, skylights, vents and pipes. This is all well and good but I have known of ice that will circumvent the lower edge of ice and water membrane in the area of the drip edge metal at the very lowest edge of the roof.

At Solid Rock, we have found the most effective way to control ice damming is to install de-icing cable in those problem areas for the winter season. The cable should be installed prior to winter and de-installed in the spring each year. The homeowner is responsible for plugging the cable into a 110V outlet whenever snow is on the roof. We provide that service for several homeowners each year and here is what some of them have to say:

• The de-icing cables work just as advertised. Where we had cables installed, there were no ice dams and no corresponding brown stains on walls or ceilings.
• We had experienced severe ice damming last winter resulting in leakage ruining paint on inside walls. Solid Rock installed de-icing cables this winter and the snow was the worst in years, and it truly worked to melt the snow slowly and we had no backup.
• What a nifty thing and it really does the job! Love how it stopped the leaking in the kitchen.
• Worked really well. Just wish I had known about it sooner.

Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991.