Many homeowners think if their trees have been there for 20 or more years, nothing will happen. That simply isn’t true and with the varied and unusual weather patterns we’ve had the last few years, almost anything kind of tree damage is possible. Get tips to reduce your risk of tree damage like the photo to the right …

Planning and Planting Your Trees

Most trees will suffer some type of damage during their lifetime. That means you want to consider where you plant young trees and which trees you remove when it’s time to thin out your backyard forest. To help your plan your landscaping, consider these tips:

• Don’t plant trees to close to any buildings or wires that can cause damage if the tree or even a branch falls.
• Trees need a healthy root system so avoid planting on steep banks or shallow/wet soils.
• Some tree species are brittle like elm, willow, poplar, etc. Don’t plant brittle trees in locations exposed to extreme weather.
• If your home gets ice and snow, avoid trees that hold their leaves late in the year as they’re more vulnerable to ice and the weight can easily snap tree branches.

Need help picking the right trees for your home?

Review Protecting Trees from Construction Damage:A Homeowner’s Guide

Maintaining Healthy Trees

There’s never enough time but an ounce of prevention will cost you less than a pound of the cure. By including annual maintenance of your yard including trees, shrubs and gardens, you’ll enjoy your home more and minimize the risk of tree damage during storms. If you don’t want to do the work, hire a professional landscaper or talk to your lawn care service as these people are happy to help you keep a well groomed yard.

• Keep your trees and shrubs healthy by watering, fertilizing and mulching to protect the soil.
• Include annual pruning in your yard maintenance plan, getting rid of dead or weak branches before they break.
• Protect valuable trees with additional support. A professional tree service can install cables or bracing to support weak branches.
• Avoid excavating around tree roots which can weaken the trees.

Tree Care After a Storm

Inevitably one or more trees in your yard will suffer storm damage. It is important to treat the tree(s) to give them the best chance at recovering properly. First you need to prune injured branches to minimize how much woody tissue is exposed to the air. According to Montana State University Extension Services article, After the Storm: Caring for Your Trees, “… open wood is an invitation to pests and pathogens to enter the tree and cause further damage. Injuries cause by twisted and broken branches need to be trimmed in such a way that the tree is able to heal over the wound as quickly as possible.”

• On February 12, 2010, 49 of 50 states had snow on the ground – only Hawaii didn’t have snow.
• During the second half of July 2011, 132 million Americans were under a “heat alert”.

How Hot is Uncomfortable?

It’s interesting to look at these charts but they don’t tell the full story. In the winter (does it help to think about the cold?) the wind chill factor combines the effect of the air temperature and the wind blowing across exposed skin, as the wind carries away some of our body heat.

During the summer or warm weather, the heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity to define the perceived “human equivalent” temperature, i.e. how hot it feels. As the human body cools itself through sweating and perspiration, the water that reaches our skin must evaporate to carry the heat away from our bodies. When the relative humidity in the air is high, evaporation slows and it takes longer to cool off compared to when the air is dry. That’s why 90° with humidity on the east coast feels much hotter than 100° in California where it’s dry.

Preparing and Protecting Yourself and Your Family

You think your body will tell you when it’s getting too hot, but you still need to take avoid these common problems associated with extreme heat. Children and the elderly are especially susceptible because they can’t always tell when they’re getting too warm. Learn the 3 types of overheating and TAKE ACTION immediately, even if you’re not sure.

• Heat Cramps – are the least severe but often the first signal that the body is having trouble with the heat. It is recognized by muscular pain and spasms due to heavy exertion.
• Heat Exhaustion – occurs when you exercise heavily or work in a hot, humid place causing you to lose too much water due to sweating. When blood flows to the skin, there is a decrease in blood flow to vital organs resulting in a form of mild shock.  This must be treated right away as conditions can worsen with rising body temperature and finally, heat stroke.
• Heat Stroke (also called Sun Stroke) – is a life-threatening condition where the victim’s temperature control system stops working.  When the body temperature rises too high, brain damage and death can occur unless the body is cooled quickly.

Looking for More Extreme Heat Information?

• From one of the hottest states, Surviving Arizona Summer Heat offers first aid for heat conditions above.
• Tips for Surviving the heat when the power or the A/C is out … focuses on storing water as that’s the key ingredient to handling the heat, to get enough water and I learned you can store water for 2 months before changing it.
• Center for Disease Control’s guidelines for Extreme Heat: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety.
• Home Tips 4 Women’s tips for Surviving the Heat Wave.

People suffer from extreme heat when their bodies aren’t able to cool themselves adequately. The body normally cools itself by sweating but sometimes that isn’t good enough. If a person’s body temperature rises too quickly, there can be damage to the brain or other vital organs. Everyone has to pay more attention to the heat and help others, as young children and older people aren’t always able to identify when they’re too hot.

When your too hot, your body releases heat by sweating. During normal weather conditions, the sweat evaporates and you stay cool. When the humidity is high, evaporation slows down and you won’t cool off as fast. A breeze also helps you cool down but extreme heat waves have less wind.

Extreme heat means temperatures are significantly hotter than usual. High humidity may accompany this heat, making it more uncomfortable. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says these conditions occur when “… a dome of high atmospheric pressure traps hazy, damp air near the ground. Extremely dry and hot conditions can provoke dust storms and low visibility. Droughts occur when a long period passes without substantial rainfall. A heat wave combined with a drought is a very dangerous situation.”

Protecting Yourself During Extreme Heat

Air conditioning offers the best protection against the heat and heat related illness. If your home doesn’t have air conditioning, try to spend the hottest hours of the day in a public building that has air conditioning. You may have a cooling center nearby or consider visiting the library, a local mall or even McDonalds because you need to stay cool and comfortable. Other tips for dealing with the heat include:

• When you don’t have air conditioning, find the coolest part of your home and spend the hottest part of the day there. This will typically be the lowest floor, on the side of the house with the lease direct sunlight.
• Drink lots of fluids regardless of your activity level. DO NOT wait until you’re thirsty to drink and if you’re exercising during extreme heat, you’ll need at least 2 to 4 glasses of cool fluids every hour. Drinking liquids with alcohol, caffeine or large amounts of sugar aren’t good as they can cause you to lose more body fluid. Very cold drinks may cause stomach cramps.
• Eat well-balanced, light meals on a regular basis. Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
• Replace salt and minerals your body loses with heavy sweating. Sports beverages can help replace what you’re losing but talk to your doctor if you’re on a low salt diet.
• Take your clothes off … did I catch your attention? When home, wear as little clothing as possible to make it easier for your sweat to evaporate. When going outside, wear loose fitting clothing that is lightweight and light colored (reflects the sunlight).
• Protect yourself from the sun with a wide brim hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. SPF 15 or higher and look for products that say broad spectrum or UVA/UVB on their labels. Remember to put the sunscreen on 30 minutes before going outdoors and reapply as needed.
• Schedule outdoor activities with care to avoid the hottest time of the day. Try to stick to early morning and evening activities and locations that offer shade and a supply of water. Take a cool shower or bath to cool off afterwards.
• Use a buddy system during extreme heat. People doing strenuous activities outdoors should check on each other periodically.  Seniors and other high risk individuals should have a friend or relative call at least twice a day to make sure they’re okay.
• Never leave children or pets in the car as temperatures can build up very quickly, even when windows are open.
• Provide pets with adequate shade and water when you have to leave them outdoors. Be kind to birds and wild animals by keeping a supply of water filled for them.
• Seek medical attention when someone isn’t feeling well. Extreme body temperatures can cause a number of heat related illnesses including heat exhaustion, heat cramps or heat stroke. Don’t take a chance!

Protect Your Home from Heat Damage

While the people in your life are your priority, paying attention to potential damage to your home and landscaping will save you time and money. As always, good preventative measures are less expensive than repairing damage.

• Water your lawn and shrubs before sunrise so the water gets absorbed into the ground. Watering during the day means evaporation will eat up most of the water which is wasteful.
• Water around your foundation 1 to 2 times a week (at night) if your sprinkler system isn’t covering this ground. If parts of your landscaping have sprinklers, you may only need to add a soaker hose about 18 inches away from the house, to protect your entire foundation. By keeping the soil moist you will avoid damage to the foundation and subsequent repairs.
• Make sure your attic has adequate ventilation or you’ll be paying higher air conditioning bills. Soffit vents can get clogged and prevent intake air from getting into your attic, reducing the effectiveness of roof vents.
• Have your car’s air conditioning serviced. You need the correct level of Freon to have the air conditioning system operate optimally.
• Keep tires inflated properly and leave windows open a crack as the heat inside can build up much higher than outside, causing windows to crack.
• Check what’s stored in your car and remove aerosol cans and any thing that might melt.

If you weren’t home and something shook your home, you might find that plant or bookcase on the floor when you get home. If you’ve watched any of the earthquake videos from Japan, you quickly realize with everything moving you can’t possibly be in 10 places at once.

There are many minor emergencies waiting to happen in a home. You can’t stop the earthquake, the hurricane or tornado but you can prepare for those weather emergencies that occur where you live.

The most common hazard at home is probably your two-year old driving their little car around, banging into everything imaginable. I still remember our labrador cowering under the kitchen table to escape this hazard. While our dogs learned to avoid my son and his new wheels, we had a few more mishaps around the house so it was time to secure the furniture. If you’ve not done this yet, here are tips on spotting potential hazards in your home and securing them for safety.

Kitchen – What’s in Your Cabinets?

Think about the hundreds of dishes and cans you have stored in your kitchen cabinets. You’ll want to move heavier objects to your base cabinets, and preferably the lower shelves, to reduce the risk of these items hurting someone. Many of us own dishes handed down from our families, so consider adding some type of latch to the cabinets where they’re stored to prevent them from opening. You can find metal cabinet door safety latches that are hidden, unlike the visible plastic child safety latches we’re used to seeing.

The most important safety precaution in kitchens has to do with gas appliances. You can replace rigid connectors with longer, flexible connectors to reduce the risk of a gas fire. You should also secure refrigerators and other large appliances, i.e. microwaves, that aren’t bolted to the wall.

Furniture – What Isn’t Tied Down Can (and Will) Move

Tall bookcases should always be secured to the wall as books are heavy, making this single piece of furniture the one most prone to accidents at any time. Other tall and top-heavy pieces of furniture, like file cabinets and dressers, should also be secured. You want to be sure you’re anchoring the furniture to the studs inside the wall, not just the drywall. Another consideration is moving tall objects away from beds and sofas.

For collectibles and other objects sitting on your furniture, you’ll want to attach them to the surface to reduce the chances of them flying off and hurting someone. You can use either a velcro-like fastener that attaches to the surface and the object or some type of adhesive, like earthquake putty, to secure breakable items in place. Like your kitchen, try to move heavier items to lower shelves.

Walls – Mirror, Mirror … Stay on the Wall

We hang lots of objects on our walls including mirrors, framed pictures and photographs to bulletin boards and more.  All of these wall hangings should be hung with closed hooks so they can’t bounce and fall off the walls. Hanging items with glass especially, should also be secured at the lower corners with earthquake putty.

When you’re decorating and want to hang art objects over beds and sofas, stick to soft art like quilts.

Electronics – Keeping Them Safe

We’re adding more and more electronic gadgets to our homes and they’re expensive. You might have a lighting rod but you’ll still want to equip all of your home electronics with some type of surge protection. You should also secure these items with flexible nylon straps to they don’t fall when someone bumps the furniture they’re sitting on, or move due to an earthquake or hurricane. Look for straps that have a buckle to make it easy to remove your equipment.

Utilities and Storage Rooms

Sitting in a corner of your garage or basement is your hot water heater that is likely to fall during an earthquake. Hot water heaters should be secured to wall studs with 2 straps to prevent it from rupturing water and/or gas connection lines inside and outside your home. You should also install flexible water connectors to allow for some movement.

Assess other items you’re storing in your garage or utility rooms as they might fall and hurt someone or block access to your cars, which you’ll need to evacuate the area. Hazardous materials should be stored on lower shelves, or the floor, to minimize damage from falling, causing leaks or spills. If you have young children, be sure to secure any area where you have these hazardous materials stored, i.e. in a closet or enclosed area.

Peace of Mind

Take a close look around your house and see what items could move in the event of an earthquake and secure them. If you have toddlers, this will help you now by ensuring your breakables won’t be inadvertently knocked over and broken or doors of cabinets opened and contents emptied. Securing them now will give you peace of mind and save you heartache, and headache, later - regardless of the event. TRJVTYCJ6RSF

Each region of the world has known risks. On the west coast of the US there are earthquakes and fires, while the southeast has hurricanes. Tornado valley stretches from northern Texas to South Dakota and the northern half of the country and Canada deals with severe storms during the winter.

This article provides an overview of things you can do to prepare your home and family for emergencies as the chart here, from EarthquakeCountry.info, shows, 4 of the 7 steps to earthquake resilience should be done before an earthquake strikes.

Earthquake Preparedness

When we look at photographs of disaster areas, we see collapsed buildings and cars scattered in unnatural positions. California building codes have done a lot to minimize building damage and the focus here is really on the contents of your home which need to be secured to reduce the damage they cause. Florida and other coastal states with lots of hurricane activity also have building codes to minimize building damage, i.e. concrete is now preferred over stick built (wood) construction.

Many of these tips are also practical for families with small children. My first son was really good about following the rules. It wasn’t until my second son, the explorer, came along, that I began to think defensively. That’s when I decided it was time to secure everything to the walls, including the Christmas tree, using fishing line and small hooks hidden on the adjacent windows.

The 7 steps outlined by EarthquakeCountry.info (graphic above) include:

1. Identify the potential hazards in your home and fix them now.
2. Like a fire escape plan, prepare a disaster preparedness plan for your home and family.
3. Prepare disaster supply kits so you’re ready at a moment’s notice.
4. Identify weaknesses in your home’s design and construction and start correcting them, i.e. when we remodeled our kitchen in California, we added plywood to the interior walls for strength in an earthquake.
5. Protect yourself during an earthquake – Drop, Cover and Hold On!
6. After an earthquake, check for injuries and damage.
7. Once recovered from the earthquake, review and follow your earthquake preparedness plan.

We’ll dive into each of these steps in more detail in upcoming articles. In the meantime, the above will at least get you thinking about the process. Although earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are bound to happen, we can take steps to minimize the amount of damage that they cause. By being prepared with a safety plan, emergency supplies and being aware of how to react, these events are less likely to cause long term damage both materially and emotionally.

As winter approaches, you need to shutoff exterior faucets to avoid problems if/when the temperature drops below freezing. Typically you’ll have 1 or more outside faucets for watering the lawn, washing the car, etc. Each exterior faucet should have a shutoff valve inside the house where you can turn off the source of water to the outside faucet.

Sometimes a homeowner will close the shutoff valve and forget to drain the pipe from the shutoff valve to the faucet, leaving water in the pipe which can freeze. Make sure you drain the outside faucet, close it and remove the garden hose. The outdoor shower to the left, has an extra valve inside to drain the system. Lower than all the other pipes, the red valve is turned to let water in the system drain through the pipe below the valve. Learn more tips about shutting off your water supply …

Water emergencies happen often from a plumbing leak inside your home to water entering your home from outside. You need to respond to water problems quickly. Why? Water or high levels of moisture left too long can cause damage, often hidden damage, which increases the risk of mold along with higher repair costs.

Once you see a small stain on your ceiling, the water leak that caused it didn’t happen that day but days or weeks earlier. What appears to be a small problem, might be small … and might be a lot bigger once you start searching for the source of the leak.

Learn Where Your Shutoff Valves Are Located

Most homeowners don’t know they can shut off the water supply to their home. The plumbing system starts with a shutoff valve where the water enters your home and many fixtures like toilets, have a shutoff valve you can use to stop the flow of water from the main system. When you buy a home, you want to get familiar with your shutoff valves (practice opening and closing at least one)  so you’re prepared for this emergency.

Always Turn the Handle Clockwise to Shut the Water Off

Where Are Your Water Shutoff Valves?

Ideally every source of water in your home has it’s own shutoff valve. You don’t see them as they’re not pretty so they’re often hiding inside the bathroom vanity or behind the washing machine. In more recent years, it’s becoming more common to add shutoff valves near the washing machine and leaving these visible to remind you to shut the valves when you leave for an extended period of time.

• Near the water meter (main shutoff) where water enters your home. In colder climates the main shutoff is inside the home while it may be outside in warm weather climates.
• Under each sink there should be two (2) shutoff valves, as there are 2 supply lines for hot and cold water. Don’t forget extra sinks like a bar sink or a utility sink in the laundry room.
• The  dishwasher is connected to the water line under the sink, so you shut it’s water off with the kitchen sink shutoff.
• Each toilet has a shutoff valve (shown here) behind the toilet, most often on the left side.
• The washing machine should have valves behind it that are easy to access, and turn off.
• Look for a shutoff valve on the cold water pipe coming into the top of your hot water heater.
• The refrigerator ice maker may be controlled by the kitchen sink or other water supply valve. It may also have its’ own small shutoff valve.
• Only bathtubs and showers do not have special shutoff valves because their controls provide that function.
• Find the shutoff valves for exterior plumbing including faucets and a sprinkler system. If they don’t have individual shutoff valves, ask the plumber to install them on the next visit.

If your home has an interior sprinkler system, learn how to shut this system off. In multi-unit buildings, i.e. condominiums, the water supply may be shared and either an onsite manager or the fire department should know how to shut the water off if the owner of the unit with the shutoff valve isn’t home.

Houses in northern climates are built to withstand freezing temperatures. Pipes have insulation between the exterior wall and the water pipes, protecting them from freezing weather. The biggest risk is where there are holes or cracks that allow cold air to enter the home and cause the temperature surrounding the pipe to drop. Water pipes in warmer climates are more likely to lack adequate insulation to protect them from freezing temperatures as they occur infrequently and homeowners aren’t as aware of the problems.

What Causes a Pipe to Burst

Let’s explore more familiar instances of freezing water. Ice cube trays allow the water to expand up as the water freezes. If you leave a full bottle of water/soda in the car during the winter or put it in the freezer to cool quickly and forget it, the bottle may burst. As the water in the bottle freezes and expands, the air compresses and the pressure builds until it bursts to relieve the pressure.

In the same way ice forms in the pipe, typically creating an ice blockage that initially doesn’t cause the pipe to burst. It’s not until continued freezing occurs and more water freezes between the ice blockage and the closed faucet, that the pressure builds until the pipe bursts. On the other side of the ice blockage, the water is able to back up towards the source of the water.

Uninsulated pipes in unconditioned spaces will begin to freeze when the outside temperature reaches 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Most problems occur with temperatures in their teens although high winds can force cold air through cracks in the outside wall and freezing may occur above 20 degrees.

Which Pipes are Most Likely to Freeze

You first want to understand which pipes are most vulnerable to freezing, as these are the ones you want to focus on as you take steps to avoid future freezing risk. Pipes located in the following areas are most vulnerable:

• Pipes that carry water outside the house like exterior faucets.
• Water pipes on the exterior walls that aren’t insulated, don’t have enough insulation or don’t have the insulation between the pipes and the exterior wall.
• Pipes carrying water in unconditioned places like the garage, basement or attic.
• Water pipes under kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls are vulnerable to freezing when room temperatures are set low, i.e. 50 degrees when you leave on vacation. Cabinets doors prevent warmed air from mixing with the colder air coming through exterior walls.

Preventing Frozen Pipes

Ideally most water pipes are placed in heated spaces, running along interior walls. This is good home design but sometimes gets lost while satisfying more functional and aesthetic requirements. Here are some of your choices for dealing with pipes that are vulnerable to freezing.

• When accessible, consider having a plumber re-route the pipes through an inside wide … so maybe that bathroom remodel you’ve been thinking about will happen sooner?
• If pipes can’t be moved, you can wrap the pipes with insulation sleeves, and fill any nearby gaps and cracks responsible for exposing the pipes to cold air.
• Heating cables aren’t ideal but if you decide to use them, make sure the product you buy is UL rated for the job and follow the manufacturer’s directions to avoid the risk of a fire. Heat tape with a built-in thermostat to control the heat is safer than one you have to remember to plug in each time it’s needed.
• Letting the water run at a slow flow won’t prevent freezing but should reduce the pressure build-up that causes pipes to burst … and leave the faucet open even if drip stops, until temperatures are above freezing. Remember that a dripping faucet does waste water so only do this for faucets that are likely to freeze.
• Don’t set thermostats too low when going away for an extended period. Leave kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open so the pipes under sinks are as warm as the room.
• Add insulation to an exterior wall where there are water pipes. My handyman business has worked with several customers to do this where a master bedroom/bathroom was added over a garage and no insulation was put in the walls.
• The best safeguard is to drain the system if the risk is high, i.e. the way summer homes are closed for the winter.

When the Pipe Freezes

When you think a pipe has frozen, i.e. when you open a faucet and no water comes out, it’s time to call a plumber. Turn off the water at the main shut-off valve (read Learning to Shut Your Water Off) until needed repairs are completed. You can try thawing the pipe with a hand-held hair dryer starting close to the faucet. If there is any standing water, do not use any type of electrical appliance. Don’t try using any type of open flame as this could start a fire.

Icicles present a safety hazard as they ultimately melt and fall off the roof. Icicles can fall and hit someone so it’s important to remove the icicles and reduce your risk by blocking the area with yellow hazard tape that you typically see around work zones.

There are lots of reasons why ice dams form and this article explains why they happen and how to reduce the possibility of ice dams occurring. We also explain the type of damage that can occur to your roof and the interior of your home, from an unfinished attic down to your living space.

This article is the beginning of a series on ice dams and if we don’t answer your questions, please leave a comment below and we’ll be sure to add the information you’re looking for.

• Ice Dams, Why They Happen & Why You Don’t Want Them … this article
• Pantyhose, A Quick Fix to Melt Ice Dams
• Solutions to Minimize Ice Dams

What Causes Ice Dams

Understanding how ice dams form requires understanding how air circulates in your home. Using the diagram to the right:

• Your heating system warms air in your living or “heated space”.
• Warm air rises and some heated air leaks into your attic.
• The roof over your attic gets warmer than the eaves that hang out past the house and don’t have any warm air underneath.
• As the snow melts on your roof and rolls down, some of the water freezes when it reaches the colder eaves. The freezing water builds up to form an ice dam along the edge or eave of your roof.
• The icicles are formed by water getting past the roof edge but freezing before it can fall to the ground. When icicles become visible, it tells you there is an ice dam or ridge of ice on the roof even if hidden by snow.

How Much Damage Can ice Dams Cause?

Ice dams can cause significant damage to your roof, your gutters and when the water finds ways into your home, you can find yourself dealing with lots of damage from the insulation in your attic to stains on ceilings and walls, and more. Here are the most common types of damage from ice dams:

• Ice is heavy and it can loosen gutters and downspouts, and even tear them off your home.
• When water freezes, it can shift roofing shingles so they’re no longer protecting your home.
• Melting water sitting behind an ice dam can cause roof sheathing to rot if it gets wet and can’t dry or escape quickly.
• The most common insulation, batts or blown in fiberglass insulation when it gets wet, compresses and looses its insulating value so you need to replace it.
• Water that leaks through the ceiling and/or down the walls can stain or compromise the sheet rock (also called drywall). It may only need a stain block and painting or the drywall may need to be replaced … and in either case, you then have to pain.
• Water that pools inside the house can cause the collapse of a ceiling, which I’ve see just once where they discovered 5 layers of roofing going back to original barn board when home was built in 1890s.

There should never be more than 2 roofing layers on a house. My preference is to always strip the old roof off to insure you can see the condition of the underlying roof sheathing (the plywood that sits over the roof trusses and supports your roofing material) and make necessary repairs. There is also more accountability with your roofer if they strip and re-roof your home.

Less common is the risk that the weight of snow and ice over an extended period, will cause a roof to cave in.  In New Hampshire where I live though, we’re getting more snow and in the article, Rising Snow Piles Lead to Roof Collapse Concerns, they state “… the Fire Marshal’s Office said when the state was last hit hard with snow in 2008, there were 223 building collapses across the state causing more than $10 million in damage.”

Reducing the Risk of Ice Dams

You can reduce the loss of conditioned (warmed in winter & cooled in the summer) by adding insulation to your walls and attic. Adding insulation to an unfinished attic is fairly easy while more insulation in your walls is something you want to address when replacing the siding on your home. You also want to seal around electrical outlets/switches and any type of opening into your home (letting outside air in) or into your attic like the attic stairs, ceiling fixtures, plumbing, etc.

Along with insulation, you need ventilation to remove warm, moist air from unfinished attics. Ideally you want the temperature of the air in the attic to be the same as outside. When your attic is cold, snow will melt evenly on the roof, reducing ice dams due to uneven melting. Ventilation requires proper venting for outside air to flow into the attic, typically from soffit vents and out through a ridge vent. Older homes often only have gable vents on either end of the attic so a new roof should include the addition of a ridge vent.

Common problems that we see in my handyman business are homeowners blocking air flow through gable vents and insulation installed wrong so that it blocks air flow from the soffit vents.

When you have a roof leak caused by ice dams, you’ve got to repair the roof and the interior damage to insulation, ceilings and walls. Preventing the formation of ice dams is the best solution to protect your home. You will save time and stress, and ultimately the money invested in a good ice melt solution will be cheaper than multiple repairs. 

This article focuses on solutions you can implement to prevent the formation of ice dams on your roof. It is the third and final article in the series on ice dams which affect all homes, not just older homes with inadequate insulation.

• Ice Dams: Why They Happen & Why You Don’t Want Them
• Pantyhose a Quick Fix to Melt Ice Dams
• Preventing Ice Dam Problems … this article!

Insulation Reduces Heat Loss from Living Space

Adding more insulation to an unfinished attic is one of the most popular solutions to reduce heat loss. Insulation slows the movement of air between spaces with different temperatures (read How Cold (Warm) is Your Home?). While most people focus on the large floor area, other places where warm air can flow into the attic include light fixtures in the ceiling, air ducts where they enter/leave the attic, plumbing pipes, electrical wires, chimneys, etc. Attic stairs are another example of potential heat loss unless they are insulated with weatherstripping to fill the gaps around the door when closed.

Ventilation Removes Warm from the Attic

Warm air will ultimately reach your attic so in addition to insulation, you need ventilation in your attic to remove the warm air and the moisture that warm air holds. Ventilation requires a system with:

• Vents to bring outside air into the attic are typically soffit vents underneath the roof overhang along the length of a house. A common problem occurs when insulation blocks these vents and stops air from circulating through the attic.
• Vents closer to the top of the roof allow attic air to leave the house. Gable vents are more familiar because you see them on the sides of houses but ridge vents at the peak of the roof have been the standard for many years with the Building Officials and Code Administators (BOCA) adopting ridge vent requirements for replacement roofs in 1999.

When your home is properly insulated and you have adequate ventilation, you are saving energy and reducing the risk of ice dams. The important word here is “reducing” as there will always be heat loss that reaches your roof. The roof over heating living space will be warmer than the roof immediately above the roof overhang … and that is where ice dams form.

Roofing Materials to Reduce Water Leaks

Between the plywood sheathing that forms the base of your roof and the roofing materials that go on top (the shingles or tile you see),  is a layer of ice and water sealant to prevent water from reaching the plywood or worse, leaking down into your home. Many contractors use a high quality sealant like Grace’s Ice and Water Shield product but only for the bottom 3 feet of the roof. When building a home or replacing your roof, you should consider running this product up the entire roof … a common practice on the seacoast.

Solutions to Eliminate Ice Dams

The most common places on your roof to find ice dams are the overhangs and in valleys which commonly get uneven sunlight. There are several solutions available to reduce ice dams and resulting problems when you have excessively large snowfall.

	This home has significant ice dam buildup along the entire edge of the roof, extending up 4 to 6 inches (what’s visible here). The ice dam and icicles will grow larger until channels are created to let melting snow drain off the roof. It’s also a good idea to rake off several feet of snow to allow sunlight to melt the ice dam faster.
	For many years, heat tape has been used to deliver low levels of heat to roofs to reduce/eliminate the formation of ice dams. Heat tape is an electrified cable, typically laid out in a zig zag pattern along the edge of the roof  and in the gutters. As you can see here, there are still icicles although they’re not continuous. The heat tape appears to be creating channels for much of the water to reach the edge of the roof  but some of the water is still freezing.
	The Roof Ice Melt system (www.IceMeltNE.com) shown here takes the concept behind heat tape to a new level. The product is made from copper or painted aluminum (30+ colors) to conduct heat from its electrical cables through the entire metal package to reduce the formation of ice dams. Advantages include cables protected from the elements for longer wear, aesthetically more attractive and the system comes with a thermostat that controls when the system turns on and off.
	Metal roofs are an excellent solution in areas that get significant snowfall. Metal roofs shed snow easily and it’s common to use different types of brackets, guards or a snow fence to slow the falling snow and break it into smaller pieces, i.e. to avoid an avalanche type accident.

The ice dam is solid and won’t leak into your home but it’s a dam and behind the dam, there is a pool of water that collects as the snow further up on your roof melts. It’s this water that can’t drain that ultimately finds it’s way inside your home causing lots of damage. Icicles and ice dams mean big trouble!

This article is the second in a series of 3 articles on ice dams – why they happen, quick fixes when they happen and most important, how to prevent them from happening again.

• Ice Dams: Why You Have Them & Why You Don’t Want Them
• Pantyhose a Quick Fix to Melt Ice Dams … this article!
  
• Preventing Ice Dam Problems

Removing Snow From Your Roof

When you’ve got icicles like those above, it’s time to figure out the best strategy for removing the snow from your roof. Removing the snow, removes the water that forms ice dams and icicles. Snow or roof rakes (RoofRake.com) are the best tool to remove snow from your roof, as they come on long poles so you can use them from the ground. Roof rakes come with handles up to 36 feet long. Better roof rakes have wheels on the lower edge to minimize touching the roof surface which is brittle in cold weather, making it vulnerable to damage.

Roof rakes need to be purchased in advance as they sell out quickly when snow storms wreak havoc across the US. Buy or order your snow rake after your first snowfall as an ounce of prevention is worth far more than the cost (stress, time and money) of potential damage.

Emptying the Pool of Water Behind an Ice Dam

Once you’ve removed the snow on your roof, you’ve got to get rid of the water pooled up behind the ice dams. Do not chip away at the ice dam as you’re likely to damage the shingles underneath. Applying heat has it’s own set of risks that should be obvious, as working from a ladder or standing on a roof with ice or snow is never recommended.

The most common “short term” solution to getting this water off your roof is to fill pantyhose with a calcium chloride melter to create a channel that allows water to run off the roof. Place the pantyhose across the ice dam with one end extending up beyond the dam and the other end hanging out past the roof and gutter. Use a tall pole, i.e. a broom or garden rake, to push the pantyhose into position. Check the pantyhose periodically as it might shift as the ice melts.

Do not spread rock salt or calcium chloride across your entire roof as these  chemicals are corrosive and can reduce the life of your roof flashing, along with metal gutters and downspouts. In large concentrations, these chemicals will also damage nearby shrubs and grass. Calcium chloride is less harmful than rock salt.

Roof and Ladder Safety

Many homeowners assume that a handyman or roofer can easily climb up on their roof to remove the snow and ice. This simply isn’t true. Consider how many people slip on an icy walkway or driveway and twist an ankle or worse, break a bone when they fall a few feet to the ground. Consider how seriously someone can get hurt when they fall off a roof.

There are similar concerns about working on a tall ladder that cannot be securely sunk into the ground. With the ground frozen and covered with snow, it’s almost impossible to place a ladder against a home safely. The gutters and/or roof edge may also be compromised by ice damage and trust me, when one of your employees falls off a ladder, it’s not fun!

Deal with your ice dams from the ground!