As the leaves fall during the next couple of months, they will fill your gutters and potentially clog the gutters and downspouts.  This in turn will cause problems during the winter months:  if your gutters are full, ice and snow may cause them to pull away from the house, causing possible water overflow, which could result in structural damage to your home.

One of the best ways to avoid potential roofing and home repair expense is to follow a preventative maintenance schedule this fall.  Take a tour around your house to ensure that there are no potential concerns that might cause you problems.

Pay particular attention to the following guidelines:

• No roof shingles are missing, torn or popping up;
• Gutters and downspouts are free of debris;
• Storm drains are clear;
• Landscape around home is properly graded;
• Tree branches do not brush against the roof;
• Chimney has been professionally checked and cleaned.  The earthquake caused many chimneys in the area to need repair.  Do not wait for winter to repair any chimney problem;
• Make sure you have adequate attic insulation and ventilation;
• Remove garden hoses indoors to avoid freezing;
• Frequently replace air filters on your heating system;
• Inspect the sealants around your windows and doors to avoid heat loss and condensation;
• Evaluate your windows to determine if they can withstand a brutal winter or should they be replaced with energy efficient double paned windows.

New Gutters and Gutter Protection System Can Ensure a Worry-Free Winter.

Pond Roofing has been installing the award-winning Gutter ProTech® for the last 7 years.  During the recent brutal winters of the last two years, those homes where Gutter ProTech® was installed had ZERO instances where gutters pulled away from the house or landed on the ground.  Its unique design effectively draws in rain water and prevents leaves clogging.  Make an appointment with Pond Roofing to have an estimator come to your home to show you what Pond believes is a long-term solution to keeping gutters clean and operable.

Because of the historic nature of the back-to-back snow storms that hit this area this winter and the number of homes that were affected by ice dams, I wanted to provide information I hope is helpful pertaining to ice dams.   Ice dams are not covered by warranty and must be submitted to your insurance carrier for claims for interior damage.  I have also included a definitive illustration of an ice dam  published in The Washington Post in February 2010.

If you were one of the thousands of residents who had ice dams, there is virtually nothing that could have been done to prevent them from forming, particularly with the amount of snow that accumulated on your roof.  Quite simply, an ice dam is a block of ice that forms at the edge of the roof preventing the melting snow from properly draining off the roof.  This melted water backs up behind the ice dam and remains a liquid.  The water will find the path of least resistance to escape, and it finds cracks and openings in the exterior roof into the attic through the walls or ceiling.

While code requires that roofing underlayment be installed 24 inches from the eave, it is merely a preventive measure, rather than a guarantee, that water will not back up and find its way into the interior.   Interior damage should not be repaired until the ceilings and walls are dry.

I have spoken to several experts in the roofing industry this winter to pass along their views to frustrated members of our community.  Because ice dams are not covered by either roofing contractors or manufacturers, you will need to contact your home insurance carrier.  I have spoken to several insurance agents, and they have assured me that interior damage caused by an ice dam will be covered.  Exterior damage will not be covered because it is considered an act of God and nature.

CertainTeed, one of the leading shingle manufacturers in the country, issued a technical announcement on February 19, 2010, defining ice dams as follows:

“If the snow/ice formation is dense enough (called an “Ice Dam”), the melt water will back up behind it.  Since standard shingle roof systems are water-resistant, not waterproof, the accumulated water can leak into the structure through the shingle joints. . . .  Note that leaks caused by ice dams are not covered by CertainTeed Asphalt Shingle Limited Warranty . . . . Homeowners who incur losses due to leaks caused by ice dam conditions should contact their insurance carrier.”

I also called the National Roofing Contractors Association in Chicago (an area that is very familiar with ice dams) and spoke to the Senior Director of Technical Services who told me that ice dams are treated as an act of God and nature and not the fault of the manufacturer or the roofing contractor.  Damage to the interior should be reported to the customer’s insurance carriers.   He said that the recent storms in our area were a freakish situation comparable to floods, high winds and other acts of nature.  Because snow acts as insulation and melts during the day and refreezes at night, water cannot escape through normal channels and therefore backs up under the shingles causing interior leaks.  This is contrary to the design of roofs where the water is expected to roll off the roof rather than back up –thus there is no way to prevent the formation of ice dams.  NRCA also pointed out that even if you had heated eaves, they would not have prevented ice dams considering the amount of snow we had.