Should You Remove Ice From A Roof

You can replace your shingle roof with standing seam or other metal roof.

Should you remove ice from a roof.

If your roof is prone to ice dams pros recommend removing snow at least from the roof s overhang when 6 inches or more accumulates to avert one. If it refuses to come loose simply leave it and install your new underlayment over it. If you see icicles hanging from your roof you most likely have an ice dam. You ll want to call someone to remove all the snow and ice or there s a good chance the ice dam will cause a leak in your home.

It is a 4 year old roof with the ice and water shield on structural insulated panels outer layer is 3 4 osb so we are not able to simply replace the plywood we need to remove the i w and build a new roof system 8 above the existing one for circulation reasons. This asphalt membrane usually pulls up with a fork or shovel although it may require some scraping. Ordinarily we recommend stripping a roof down to bare deck so that you can inspect the deck valley s soffits and eaves for any kind of damage. 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.

My question is do i try to remove the existing ice and water shield or just lay new ice and water shield over the old. If left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof. Ice dams happen when ice melts trickles down the roof then freezes again. If 6 inches of snow falls on your roof but the nighttime and daytime low temperatures are forecast to stay above freezing for a couple of days you probably don t need to get the snow removed because it will likely melt soon enough or at least decrease significantly in weight and never become an ice dam.

A designated roof rake with wheels on the bottom is a great tool to quickly remove snow so that it doesn t melt and form ice dams. Now it doesn t much matter how much snow is on your roof. If dams are a serious threat to your roof the problem is usually due to poor ventilation. If your roof is not very steep an ice dam can still form on metal roofing and drip edges.

Whatever you do install a water repellant membrane under any new roofing. You may not be able to do that with i w. These dams can tear apart your home so limit them by keeping your roof clear of snow. Some roofs have self adhering ice and water barrier installed along the roof edge.

Or you can replace the bottom three feet or so of your shingle roof with a wide metal drip edge. You must do the raking as soon as you can after a. An ice dam is a ridge of ice near the roof s edge that prevents melting snow from draining into gutters.