![]() Once a downspout clogs and water freezes inside a gutter, it is too late! Installation of gutter guards is a good investment which will save you time and prevent clogs.Ģ. Make sure water can flow freely off and away from your roof. Maintain and clean your gutters and downspouts regularly. Ice dams on existing roofs can be prevented by following the steps below:ġ. At the same time, cold air outside can freeze the melting snow and create ice, and the freeze thaw cycle continues. This warm air will warm the roof and melt any standing snow. Without proper ventilation, warm air becomes trapped in the attic space. Cold air from the exterior enters the intake vents and pushes warm air out of the attic space through the exhaust vents in a properly functioning system. There should be a 50/50 balance of cold air intake vents and warm air exhaust vents in the attic space directly underneath the roof deck. Optimize roof ventilation by balancing intake vents (soffit or gable vents) and exhaust vents (ridge vent or box vent). Always make sure water has a clear path out of the downspouts and away from the foundation of the house.ģ. Custom seamless gutters are a bit more expensive than prefabricated gutters, but they pay for themselves once you consider durability and maintenance. Larger roofs will require larger gutters with more water capacity. Most contractors will be able to calculate the necessary gutter capacity based on roof size. Install gutters and downspouts large enough to handle all the water runoff from your roof. One must weigh the costs and benefits to going beyond the minimum building code in this situation.Ģ. Generally speaking, more is better in this situation, but ice and water barrier is relatively expensive when compared to traditional tarpaper underlayment. Also note that this is "minimum" building code. If you have wider soffit, carefully read the minimum building code for roofing in your municipality and be prepared install more than one row of ice and water barrier. This is why most roofers include one row (first three feet) of ice and water barrier in their bids for roofing work. Therefore, standard ice and water barrier manufactured in three (3) foot wide rolls will meet minimum building code. In most situations, the roof soffit (overhang) is 1 foot or less wide. ![]() ![]() Minimum building code for most municipalities in Wisconsin require ice and water barrier to extend from the edge of any roof eave all the way up two (2) feet past the interior wall. Lower pitched roofs may require 6 feet of ice and water barrier or more. When installing a new roof, always install a good quality ice and water barrier on the first 3 feet of all roof eaves at minimum (or 2 feet past the first interior wall). Prevent ice dams during new construction or re-roofing by employing the following measures:ġ. Preventing ice dams is easy and inexpensive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |