A roof leak on your home may seem a little strange in the winter months. We hear it often. “I just had a brand new roof installed. How can I have roof leaks already?”  Well, roof leaks in the winter are different than in the summer months. In the winter roof leaks are often caused by ice buildup. That ice on your roof and in your gutters is called an ice dam. Snow melts from your warming roof and creates water that flows downward. Because a roof has warm spots and cold spots, that water can gradually freeze in the cold areas. The ice in the cold spots can begin to grow, causing an ice dam.  It can grow large enough to actually stop the water from flowing altogether. That is when the problems can start. Water-soaked insulation, damaged walls, flooring, mold growth, you name it we have seen it. It is important to remove ice build-up as soon as possible to eliminate and prevent ice dams.

Roof ice, otherwise known as an ice dam can cause damage to your home. Having them properly removed is the key to solving the problem. Forming in the cold areas of your roof (oftentimes above your roof edge) they begin to grow. Icicles start to form and drip. This oftentimes gives homeowners the idea that the ice dam is melting. When in actuality often times this is the sign of an ice dam building.  If icicles are dripping water, this means that the snow on your roof is melting. Your icicles on the edge of your roof are oftentimes a few degrees warmer than the ice above your roofline. That ice above your gutters is probably under an insulated blanket of snow that helps it to stay cool throughout the day. At night the temperatures drop. This leads to even greater ice dam build-ups.

Gutter ice removal is one of the keys to successfully stopping roof leaks. It is likely that a clogged gutter is the reason that the water on your roof had a chance to freeze in the first place. We can provide you with a gutter ice melting service along with ice dam removal in the Brainerd Lakes Area.