Roof Ice Dams Fix

Ask the Inspector: Maintenance

There are so many inexpensive ways to protect your home from costly repairs.

Make sure your landscaping is sloping away from the foundation and install gutter and downspouts with long extensions around the entire house to keep water from penetrating into the basement. This is not a cure-all, but at least you are doing everything you can to help. If you do have serious moisture penetration, you may have to add drain tile and a sump pit and pump to collect water and send it away from your foundation.

Keep your asphalt driveway sealed and repair the cracks to extend its life.

If you are missing some mortar in your brick chimney, replace it so it won't need major chimney repair.

In the winter pull the snow off the roof edge to prevent ice dams and damage to roofing materials.

Keep your caulking updated to prevent air loss and moisture penetration. Make sure your home's exterior is regularly caulked, sealed and painted on a regular basis to prevent moisture intrusion and rot. This is especially important on wood and composite fiberboard siding, soffit, fascia and window frames.

On the interior, monitor for any moisture penetration. Deal with it right away, before it can cause serious damage.

Have your furnace and air conditioning units maintained by a heating and cooling specialist every year. This will help extend their life.

Make sure you keep your deck stained and sealed. I have seen decks that needed replacement because nothing was done to prevent water damage.

If you have a wood-burning fireplace and use it frequently, have a fireplace specialist clean and check it every year.

Drain a couple of buckets of water out of your water heater every year to get rid of the sediment at the bottom of the tank. This could prolong its life.

Repair any leaking faucets. This will save you money in wasted water and extend the life of your fixtures.

Turn your main water shutoff on and off every month to make sure it works. When they're not moved in many years, they can seize up and will not operate in an emergency.

Simply walking around the inside and outside of your house can inspire you to undertake projects to make it look better and last longer. This effort also will help immensely when you try to sell your home.

Duerkop is a licensed home inspector and serves as president and education director of the Wisconsin Association of Home Inspectors for the central and northern Wisconsin chapters. To submit a question to him, call 866-715-8222 or e-mail AmericanSentry1@charter.net .

Why is Roof Ventilation So Important? Discover benefits of Roof ...

The ROOF and ATTIC, two vital areas of the house where homeowners dare to enter, or care to look at – until the problems start.. If you’ve ever had a new roof installed in the past, your roofing contractor may have insisted that you install some type of roof ventilation and soffit ventilation system. However, some homeowners feel that there roofer might be trying to pull a fast one by having you spend extra money on some kind of magical upgrade. In fact, roof ventilation isn’t all hocus pocus and magical card tricks, but, really do play a crucial role in extending the life of your roofing shingles, reducing ice dams, lowered cooling bills in the summer, etc..

Old home Vs new  home roof ventilation

You’ve probably caught an episode or two of This Old House, or some show on HGTV and have learned that older homes tend to have little, to any kind of roof ventilation and inadequate insulation, but their roof seems to be holding up just fine. The reason for this, older homes lack window and door insulation, vapor barriers, and are generally not as airtight by today’s standards. This causes drafty homes and higher energy bills, but, also helps fight the lack of roof and soffit ventilation by having continuous air circulation in your home.

In newer homes, home builders have energy efficiency on their minds when building houses. Starting with proper roof ventilation, vapor barriers, window and door insulation, to name a few. This keeps heating/cooling bills low and a longer lasting roof.

Roof Ridge Vents – How Can I Tell If I Need Any?

The best way to tell if your roof isn’t properly ventilated, is in extreme climate months – summer and winter. Have you ever gone up into your attic on a hot summer day and said “HOLY S###, IT’S LIKE A SAUNA IN HERE!” – I wonder how my photo album is holding up??? In the winter, you might see Ice dams forming on top of your roof. Ice dams on your roof can cause a lot of problems, from roof shingle damage, to roof leaks causing mold and rot to occur.

If you need to have roof ventilation installed in your home, consult with a professional in your area. I wouldn’t advise any homeowner to get up on their roof to install ridge vents. There’s also a proper way to install ridge vents. For example, you need to calculate the total area of your attic for vent/to air flow ratio’s to ensure proper air-flow and the list goes on. So, consult with a roofing contractor to see what you need to have done.

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