Get Cold Weather Ready

During the summer time, the warm dry weather makes it easy to get up on the roof to check for leaks or loose shingles. Now as the sun gets colder it seems like a good idea to stay indoors – perhaps under a few layers of blankets.

Keeping warm in the winter is important, but when it starts getting cold outside, there are a few things to keep an eye on for the home.

One of those things is the ice dam.

An ice dam forms when the heat escaping your home through the attic melts the snow sitting on your roof. The water flows down the roof until it reaches the cold edge over the eaves and freezes.

The buildup happens quickly and can leave a reservoir of water to collect and sit on the roof, causing leaks and bringing serious water damage to the home.

It doesn’t happen every winter, but snowfall in Vancouver is common enough to cause problems for homeowners that haven’t prepared.

Preventing the Dam Ice

The easiest way to prevent ice dams is to stop the heat from escaping the home and going into the attic. Start by sealing any leaks into the attic, or cathedral ceiling. Adding more insulation to the attic spaces can help to hold more of your homes energy indoors, preventing snowmelt, and improving the overall efficiency of your heating bill. It’s a total win win solution.

Adding proper ventilation can also help to manage the temperature of attic spaces. These simple fixes could save you thousands of dollars over years of restorative maintenance.

Give us a quick call if you’d like to learn more about winter prep or improving your attic insulation before the bad weather hits. We have years of experience just sitting around doing nothing else useful.

Just kidding, we’ve got our hands full, but we still want to help!