Ice Dam Leaking Into the House? What to Do First

1. Catch the water. Buckets and towels under every drip, and anything that can be damaged moved out of the way.
2. Photograph it. The ceiling, the walls, the floor and the outside of the roof edge from the ground, with the date. Keep receipts for anything you buy.
3. Stay off the roof and the ladder. The University of Minnesota Extension warns that anyone on a winter roof, or working on one from below, risks injury.
4. Call to have the dam removed. Rocket Roofing General Contractor steams ice dams off the eaves so the water behind them drains off the roof. Call us at (402) 291-8888.
5. Call your insurance agent. The ice dam insurance guide covers what a standard policy generally pays for.

Because melting snow cannot get off the roof. The University of Minnesota Extension explains that an ice dam forms when the upper roof is above 32 degrees F and the eaves are below it: snow melts higher up, runs down and freezes again at the cold edge. The next melt pools behind that ridge of ice.

Shingles shed water running downhill; they do not hold back standing water. It backs up under them, through the roof deck and into the attic, and shows up as stains and drips on ceilings and at the tops of outside walls. Omaha's residential code marks ice barrier underlayment as required because of exactly this, which its note reserves for places with a history of local damage from ice damming.

As a stopgap only. The University of Minnesota Extension describes cutting a channel through the dam with warm tap water on a mild day, working upward from the lower edge, so the water behind it can drain. It also says the channel stops working within days, and that anyone doing it from a roof or a ladder risks injury.

What not to do: chip at it. The Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center warns that scraping shingles can loosen or break them, and ice frozen onto a roof puts any hammer or chisel against those same shingles. The Extension adds that a roof rake or push broom can damage roofing. Steam melts the ice off without that.

Once it is dry. The University of Minnesota Extension says not to repair interior damage until ceilings and walls are dry, and to fix the heat loss that caused the ice dam at the same time, or the damage comes back next winter.

The heat loss is usually in the attic: air leaking up from the house, then not enough insulation. The attic ventilation guide covers the order to fix it in, and our post on preventing ice dams on Nebraska roofs covers the rest of the season.

Often. Water that sat under the shingles can wet the roof deck beneath them. Rocket Roofing General Contractor handles roof repair and replacement, and the roof check after a storm is free: the roof, the gutters and the siding in one visit, photographed, with a free estimate in writing.

If the roof is replaced, Omaha's code requires an ice barrier underlayment, which the Department of Energy describes as an extra layer against leaks when ice dams form.

From the house below. The University of Minnesota Extension names air leaking from the living space into the attic as a major cause, and lists the others: exhaust fans that end just above the roof, chimneys, leaky or poorly insulated ducts in the attic, and knee wall spaces. Each one warms part of the roof deck, the snow over it melts, and the water runs down to the cold eaves and freezes.

Knowing where the heat comes from matters tonight only in one way: a leak usually appears near the outside wall below the warm spot, so that is where to put the buckets and where to look for the next drip.

Move them, then catch the water. Triple-I's cold weather advice is to remove any carpet or furniture that seepage could damage further. Put buckets or pans under each drip, towels around them, and plastic over anything too heavy to move. If a ceiling is bulging with water, keep people out of the room.

Photograph everything before and after you move it, and keep receipts for anything you buy. Both help the claim.

Generally, yes. Triple-I says standard home policies cover most damage from a freeze, including water that backs up under roof shingles when ice forms in the gutters, and it says most policies do not cover flood damage or backups in sewers and drains. Your policy decides, so call your agent once the water is contained. The ice dam insurance guide explains what to document and what to ask.

The dam comes off, the roof is checked, and the cause is fixed. Rocket Roofing General Contractor steams the ice off the eaves and out of the gutters, then looks at the shingles, the flashing and the decking the water reached. If the roof is replaced, Omaha's residential code requires an ice barrier underlayment, which the Department of Energy describes as an extra layer against leaks when ice dams form. The attic is the other half: the DOE calls sealing its air leaks the most important step.

Rocket Roofing General Contractor has served Omaha, Papillion and the rest of Nebraska since 2008. We are registered with the Nebraska Department of Labor, NE DOL #98741-26, and we are a GAF Certified Residential Roofing Contractor. Our crews physically clear snow and ice from roofs and steam ice dams. Headquarters: 5634 S 85th Cir Ste 204, Omaha, NE 68127. Call us at (402) 291-8888.