How To Remove Ice Dams From A Roof

If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position.

How to remove ice dams from a roof.

One way to remove an ice dam is to melt it using calcium chloride ice melt. As more snow melts it will also refreeze when it hits the new ice slowly building up a frozen wall that pushes backward up the roof raising shingles and sliding into unprotected roof sheathing. The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. Here are five ways to remove an ice dam from your roof.

See below for a shopp. Using a long handled roof rake to removing the snow from at least at lower 4 feet of roof edge can help prevent ice dams from forming. So the first step is to remove this ice and snow using a snow rake which is a retractable rake that can extend up to about 17 feet or so in length. Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape.

Using a roof rake remove snow 3 4 feet from the edge of your roof being careful not to damage the roof covering or to allow snow to build up around walking paths or to block emergency exits. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. Ice dams can harm the roof in other ways as well. Fill a woman s stocking with calcium chloride and lay it in position directly over the ice dam in your gutter.

Ice dams appear quickly after a heavy snow because of the insulating properties of snow. Using a roof rake and push broom not water remove the snow by carefully pulling it down the slope of the roof line. If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position. Eliminate its fuel source if left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof.

As water seeps between shingles and freezes it expands loosening the shingles and penetrating through the layers of the roof until you have a. Remove snow and ice dam from the roof this will eliminate the main ingredients necessary for the formation of another ice dam and will usually stop the water from coming in within an hour.