Ice damming on your roof during this record snowstorm

Ice Damming can cause roof leak damage. This occurs when the gutters to your home are clogged with debris. This debris can be leaves that were never cleaned out in the fall months, or even ice build up when temperatures fall below freezing, creating an ice dam whereby the roof snow backs up the roof and leaks in through ceilings and exterior walls.

If this occurs you need to mitigate water damage immediately, but don't go up on your roof.  You should contact your Public Adjuster.  Your adjuster should be able to get emergency services done without costing you anything out of pocket. You also need to understand the dangers of mold.

If your home has a sloped roof, and is more than 20 years old, there is a 98 percent probability that your attic has excessive heat, leading to ice damming. Flat roofs also suffer ice damming and the weight of ice and snow damage.  This can result in subsequent water damage, and may have other serious problems identified by that heat, too. Even newly constructed homes may have serious attic heat problems.

Your response may be, "I don't live in a snow climate, so I don't have to be concerned about ice dams, right?" Wrong! The problem of ice damming is a much deeper issue than it may first appear, and may be indicative of construction and health related problems other than just that of a "roof" problem. Ice damming can lead to delamination of the roof sheathing, wood rot of the roof rafters, and failure of the insulation - leading to higher fuel bills, the development of mold growth, and health problems disguised as asthma, allergies, colds and sinus conditions.

Most people attribute the problem of ice damming to the "roofer," saying the roofer caused it. But this may not be the case. Although in some cases, the accuser would be right, in most cases, the roofer is not to blame for ice damming and related problems. He may have done everything correctly when installing a roof, and still there may be ice damming and water leakage - not from unsatisfactory roofer workmanship, but rather as a result of one of several subtle sources of heat, created by:

1. The Architect
   
2. The General Contractor
   
3. The Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Contractor
   
4. The Insulation Contractor
   
5. The Electrician
   
6. And yes, let's not forget, the Homeowner, too!

Winter is here and in full force. Correcting the above problems is easy during warm weather, but almost impossible to correct in cold weather, so act now, call your public adjuster and they will take of the damages for you. One of the most common types of mold that thrives in a moist attic environment is black mold. Black mold spreads by spores, and there is growing evidence of serious health hazards associated with breathing in the black mold spores. If your home has experienced any of the above scenarios, schedule your policy review and home inspection today.

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