How To Remove Ice Dams From A Roof

One way to remove an ice dam is to melt it using calcium chloride ice melt.

How to remove ice dams from a roof.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. As more snow melts it will also refreeze when it hits the new ice slowly building up a frozen wall that pushes backward up the roof raising shingles and sliding into unprotected roof sheathing. If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position.

Using a roof rake remove snow 3 4 feet from the edge of your roof being careful not to damage the roof covering or to allow snow to build up around walking paths or to block emergency exits. See below for a shopp. As water seeps between shingles and freezes it expands loosening the shingles and penetrating through the layers of the roof until you have a. Eliminate its fuel source if left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof.

Using a long handled roof rake to removing the snow from at least at lower 4 feet of roof edge can help prevent ice dams from forming. If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position. So the first step is to remove this ice and snow using a snow rake which is a retractable rake that can extend up to about 17 feet or so in length. Ice dams occur when snow on a roof melts but freezes before getting fully clear of the roof.

Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape. Use a roof rake after heavy snowfalls. Using a roof rake and push broom not water remove the snow by carefully pulling it down the slope of the roof line. Ice dams can harm the roof in other ways as well.

Here are five ways to remove an ice dam from your roof. Fill a woman s stocking with calcium chloride and lay it in position directly over the ice dam in your gutter.