HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — If you’re a homeowner, recent subfreezing weather conditions could damage your roof and even cause a leak. Our reporter Jasamine Byrd tells us more on how to protect the health of your roof.
Yellowhammer Roofing Director, Bryce Curtis says his company's professional opinion pertaining the cause of ice dams is lack of insulation inside the home, in the attic.
" Inside the home, if you have the proper insulation, then obviously that will help with the interior heat that is causing that, that snow to melt and then getting caused by that ice dam by your eaves that water has nowhere to go."
Curtis also expounds that this is how ice dams form, " so, all that snow is actually melting from the top. and that's catching down there at the bottom, where that eave is not getting any of that internal heat, interior heat to it. and that causes ice damming, and it makes that water go back up, actually go back up under the shingle into the house."
But when it comes to the wintertime with snow and ice, the most important thing that can help prevent ice damming is, " it's always great to have proper insulation. Okay? Because not only does it help you in the summertime, but it also to helps you in the wintertime, he explains."
Also, if for some reason you find that your roof is leaking, Curtis says, " one thing, like with us, we come out and we give free assessments. but, also too, there are times, it's a, there's times where it's been we've been able to provide people with emergency tarps, if it is an emergency tarp situation."
Curtis says that the last thing to note when checking the health of your roof, " if you're able to access your attic, get up, get up in your attic and shine that light around just to make sure you don't have any wet, wet or mildew spots all on your OSB, on your on your roof, under your shingles, because that right there can be the first sign that, hey, I've got a leak.".