How to Protect Your Home from Ice Dams

Ice dams form when the warm air inside your home escapes into the attic, heating the roof and melting the snow on it. The resulting water streams toward the cold gutters and eaves and refreezes upon contact. After some time, this thawing and refreezing process results in ice buildup, or ice dams. Not only are these ice dams dangerous to anyone walking outside of your home, but they can also damage your attic, walls, and ceilings. Goshen, Indiana can experience very cold winters. It is therefore very important that you protect your home from ice dams.

Insulation

When you properly insulate your home, you stop heat from escaping into the attic. Fiberglass, which many of today’s home builders use as insulation, works well at minimizing the heat that escapes through the ceiling. Additionally, insulation levels are determined by geographic location and expressed in R-values. The R-value represents a material’s resistance to heat flow. The higher the value, the better the insulating power.

Ventilation

When you properly ventilate your home, you remove any heat that might gather in your attic and prevent snow from melting on the roof. Two of the most common ways to make sure that excess moisture and heat can escape to the outside is through a mechanical ventilation system, an electric fan on the roof that runs according to temperature and humidity levels; and natural ventilation, such as a ridge vent.

Waterproofing

When you waterproof your home, you prevent leaks from causing damage to the inside of your home. Whether you are building a new home or re-roofing your old one, you should consider installing waterproof shingle underlay before applying the shingles. This will help to protect your home from leaks that might develop in the outer roofing material.

Now that you know what causes dams to form, you can start to implement measures to protect your home. For more information about these formations, or any other area of concern during the winter, contact your HVAC professionals at Rex’s Heating and Cooling today at (574) 500-2867. We can provide the services you need to keep your home safe and comfortable this winter.