What Are the Dangers of Icicles to Roofs?

Ice Dams

• Some icicles form because the heat from a home is escaping through a poorly ventilated and insulated roof. As the sun or heat from the roof melts the snow, the water will form icicles on the eaves of the roof. When icicles form, they prevent more water from draining off the roof, so the water and ice can back up under the shingles. If a roof dam occurs, the home can sustain damage.

Inside Damage

• When ice dams form from the melting snow or ice, the water starts to back up under the shingles because it has nowhere else to go. As the underlayment (wood underneath the shingles) gets wet, it starts to drip water in the attic. The walls and floor of the attic will sustain water damage. The leaking water can follow a route down the wall studs and damage walls on other floors of the building, too.

Preventing Icicles

• Icicles can be prevented by using a roof rake to remove the snow buildup from the first 6 to 12 inches of the roof if you have a single story building. For two-story buildings or taller, you can prevent ice dams by insulating the interior of the building and venting the attic correctly so there is no loss of heat to melt the snow on the roof.

Injuries

• People standing below icicles are in danger of injury. Eventually, those icicles are going to fall. No matter what the size of the icicle, being hit with a falling piece of ice can injure anyone. The points of the icicles can be very thick, giving the icicle the potential ability to pierce the body or at least cause a severe bruise.