How To Melt Ice Dams On Roof

Melt the ice dam with calcium chloride socks.

How to melt ice dams on roof.

If you have a steep home or can t get the tablets on the roof it may be time to contact a professional. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. Next go up on the roof and put ice melt socks vertically one end onto the gutter and the other end up the roof slopes spacing them every 3 feet.

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that occurs on the edge of the roof of your house that prevents melting snow from draining off your home s roof. The snow melts into water and t. Stop ice dams with a cold roof ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge. Fill the leg of discarded pair of panty hose with a calcium chloride ice melter.

Throw the tablets on your roof from a safe spot on the ground. In this video master electrician for ask this old house scott caron helps a homeowner install heat cables on his roof to stop ice dams. Secure shingle clips to roof shingles using a flathead screwdriver making sure to align them in a zigzag pattern. This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing.

Distribute roof melt tablets evenly around the perimeter of the roof either near the eaves or near the gutters to assist with ice reduction. Instead fill long socks. Calcium chloride is the same stuff used for melting ice on driveways and sidewalks but don t just sprinkle it on the ice dam. Ice dams can be frustrating.

Fill a woman s stocking with calcium chloride and lay it in position directly over the ice dam in your gutter. Ice dams are caused by a combination of snow heat loss from your house and cold outdoor temperatures. Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape. The socks will create melt a channel in the ice to allow the water to run off your roof instead of building up along the eaves and leaking inside.

If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position. This scenario is often the result of a warm attic. If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position.