This is the time of year in Central Ohio when we get calls about leaks that are occurring because of ice dams. Why do they occur and what can we do to prevent them?

Melting snow from the roof gets trapped at the edge of the roof because of the ice that remains at the edge of the roof. The water collects at this point and is able to enter the house. Your shingled roof depends on shedding water to operate properly; it is not designed to hold water.

The cause can be poor insulation, inadequate ventilation or an improperly functioning gutter. Most of the homes we inspect for ice damming issues have adequate insulation. If the cause of the damming is insulation it is usually because it was installed over the ventilation intake vents or some of the insulation got displaced after the original installation. Most of the time we see ice damming it is because the house is not properly ventilated. The hot attic air gets trapped and heats up the surface of the roof, melting the snow that is resting on it. The water runs down the roof to the eave that is not heated by the attic. There it meets an ice dam and stays there until it melts or is removed.

In most cases the easiest way to prevent them in the future is to properly ventilate the roof. This should be done when the roof is installed, but is often not the case. All that is required is some intake vents at the lowest portion of the roof, which usually means at the soffit (You would see these vents if you were viewing your eaves from the ground). Exhausts vents should be installed at the upper most portion of the roof. These can be ridge vents, shingle vent, hat vents, or possibly a power vent if there is insufficient ridge to install the other vents.

Installing proper ventilation allows cooler air to flow through the attic space and out the top. It keeps the surface of the roof closer to the outside air temperature insuring it won't melt before the section of roof at the eave. There are added benefits to venting the roof as well. By removing the trapped most air from the attic the insulation stays dryer (insulation loses it insulative value when it gets wet) and it also allows the roof to last longer.

We can give you expert recommendations based on the specifics of your house and of course this issue is addressed in every roof we install.

The other safeguard to ice damming is the installation of ice and water shield. This is a material that will waterproof the section of roof you install it on. The recommendation is that extend at least two feet past the exterior wall at the horizontal plane. Meaning that because of the slope of the roof, more than two feet of material is required. Ice and water shield doesn't prevent ice dams but it will keep water out. The city of Columbus now requires this for all new roof replacements.


What to do if you are experiencing ice dam leakage right now. Some homeowners attempt to alleviate the ice damming as a DIY project. We don't recommend doing that however. Ladders become very slippery when your feet have snow on them. A light colored roof may have an invisible paper thin layer of ice on it that can cause you to slip. The roof is also easily damaged by chopping the ice away. We are happy to come out and remove the ice dam, but usually the water is gone by the time we get to the house. All the damage is done. If the weather pattern that created the ice dam repeats itself a new ice dam will form. It's better to invest in repairing the source of the problem than its symptoms.

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614-792-6797

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541 Schrock Rd Columbus, OH 43229

A chimney crown is the cement that forms the top of your chimney. It acts as an "umbrella" to prevent water from pooling on the brick. This is important in the warmer times of the year because bricks are semi porous and allow water to leech into them. The bigger issue is what would happen in the winter during freezing temperatures . Water that  is allowed to penetrate a small gap will expand when it freezes, splitting or cracking the brick or cement. If this process is allowed to continue each winter it will eventually destroy the chimney.

We usually see this on chimneys that are 40 to 50 years old. Occasionally we'll see it on newer chimneys. What we are noticing a lot lately is that a repair attempt has been made and failed. Someone has tried to apply a thin layer of cement of a damaged crown and that new layer, because it is so thin fails in a few years.

The correct way is to remove the old crown, construct a form around the top of the chimney and install a new crown. It's a little more effort but you end up with a crown that will last.

We recently replaced a crown that was showing some damage. You can see the old cement underneath the thin layer of cement. If the chimney had remained like that you can see where water would have entered and froze, causing more damage.

We placed  tarps and sheets of plywood to protect the existing roof. Then we chipped away the old cement that formed the crown on the chimney. We then built a form around the chimney to pur the cement into. The most critical step is making sure the cement cures properly, insuring the crown won't need to be replaced again. If it's allowed to cure too fast it may even crack the same day.

Here's the completed crown. We put new stainless steel screens on after the picture was taken. The rest of the chimney is in excellent shape. We installed a new roof for the homeowner about six years ago. At that time the chimney was fine. It usually takes several years for a crown to show this much damage. The pace that the damage occurs accelerates as the cracks get bigger. Oftentimes you can see the damage from the ground.

If your bricks are "spalling" or breaking up and falling on the roof, you may require a complete rebuild. It's obviously much cheaper to replace the crown before it gets that far.

Call for an Estimate!

614-792-6797

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541 Schrock Rd Columbus, OH 43229