My Roof Leaks After Using Roof Rakes

Ice Dams

• Roof rakes are intended to prevent the buildup of ice dams, which are walls of ice that form around gutters and at the edges of roofs. An ice dam occurs when heat from the sun or from your attic warms snow on the roof and melts it, allowing it to run down the slope of the roof. Freezing overnight temperatures or a temperature drop causes this water to turn into ice near the edge of the roof, with more water pooling up behind it. If you don't use your roof rake often enough, or don't remove snow before it has a chance to melt, you will still have ice dams that can cause leaks.

Damage from Rakes

• While roof rakes are intended to prevent roof leaks, they can also cause them. Raking a roof pulls on the shingles and can dislodge them. If your home has an older roof, the damage from raking can be more severe. When raking a roof it isn't necessary to remove every trace of snow. Ice dams will only form when there is enough ice at the roof's edge to prevent new snow and water from running off into your gutters or yard.

Evidence

• You can determine the source of roof leaks that occur after you use a roof rake by checking the location of the leaks. Water that pools up behind ice dams will enter your home through the roof several inches or feet above the gutters. If your roof leaks because of damage from a roof rake, it can occur anywhere. If you notice leaks in areas where you used a roof rake extensively or encountered a great deal of resistance while raking, the damage is more likely from raking than ice damming.

Repairs

• To repair a leaking roof, you'll first need to identify the site of the leak. Loose or missing shingles are relatively straightforward to replace. If a season's worth of roof raking has left your shingles scraped and damaged, you may want to replace them before the next winter. Pooling water behind ice dams can only enter your home if there are gaps or tears in one or more of the weatherproof layers beneath the shingles. The damage caused by ice damming can be much more costly and time consuming to repair than the more localized damage caused by a rake.