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Ice
Dams Scourge of Area Homes
- 2/7/2001, Bozeman
Ice dams scourge of area homes
02/07/01
By KAYLEY MENDENHALL Chronicle Staff Writer
photo by THOMAS LEE/
Paula Abrams stands beneath the ice dam on her roof north
of Bozeman Monday afternoon.Leaking ceilings, warped window
frames and floor boards, soaked dry wall and moldy plaster
-- who would have thought winter could bring such nasty
treats to homeowners in Bozeman?
"There is a foot of ice in my gutter," said
Bozeman resident Paula Abrams. "It's getting under
the shingles because of a really unusual weather condition."
Abrams isn't the only Bozeman homeowner with an ice dam
on her roof and a puddle in her kitchen. Many people are
experiencing substantial ice build-ups that are damaging
their homes on the inside and out.
"The real killer is the freeze and thaw cycles,"
said Ben Yanker of Buffalo Restoration. His office has
been swamped with calls of people needing help with the
water damage ice dams have caused their homes.
Yanker said that when snow on the heated part of the roof
melts it runs off toward the gutter. When it hits the
unheated eaves, it freezes again. When the thawing and
freezing happens repeatedly it creates a large dam of
ice both in the gutter and on the eaves.
"You think that your roof is cold, but it's still
warmer than where the eave is," Yanker said. "The
water runs down and freezes when it hits the edge of the
roof."
Snowmelt that occurs after an ice dam has formed has nowhere
to go, said Ross Leake of Safeco Insurance Co.
"It really, literally is a dam," he said. "The
water just pools and sits there and will come back underneath
the shingles. It migrates its own way."
This winter has produced larger ice dams and bigger problems
than years past. Leake said temperatures haven't risen
above freezing long enough to melt all the snow off the
roofs. He said the problem attacks both old and new homes.
In the 22 years Sally Richter has lived in her Bozeman
home, she's never had an ice problem. This year, her north
side gutter was so full of ice it was hanging off the
house and had to be removed.
"I've never had anything like this happen before,"
Richter said. "I was very surprised. I felt like
my house had turned on me."
Once an ice dam has formed, the only way to stop leaks
is to get rid of the ice.
Yanker said there are several methods for ice removal,
but none of them are easy and some can be dangerous.
"One way to do it is you could chip it off,"
he said. "Of course, we don't recommend getting up
on the roof for safety reasons."
If a homeowner can reach the ice dam safely with a ladder,
then chipping the ice off is a good place to start. Yanker
said it is important not to chip down too far because
it is easy to damage the roof especially when shingles
are frozen and brittle.
Once the ice has been chipped down so that only about
an inch remains, Yanker suggests applying a chemical de-icing
agent to remove the final layer. Rock salt can be corrosive
and could harm vegetation in underlying flower beds.
"Some people are using a torch to heat it up,"
Yanker said. "But that is a difficult way to get
it to melt."
The ambient air temperature around the flame is so cold
that it takes a long time to melt large amounts of ice
with a torch, Yanker said. Using hot water to melt the
ice is a possibility but could cause problems because
it adds more water to the equation.
"It's kind of a bad thing because it's very difficult
to remove the ice, and the ice is the source of the problem,"
he said.
Once the ice is removed, homeowners are encouraged to
either add more insulation to the area where the roof
meets the eave, or install heating tape to keep the ice
from rebuilding.
"You put it on the roof in a zig zag fashion and
plug it in," Yanker said of the heating tape. "It's
not to be used to melt the ice, but once you have the
ice gone it is a preventative measure."
He said for 100 feet of tape it costs about $67 without
installation. Most homeowner's policies will cover internal
water damage, but may not pay to correct the roof problems
that caused an ice dam to form, Leake said. As for the
cost of ice dam removal, he said it would have to be determined
on a case by case basis.
Les Visser Joins BRI
- 2/27/2001, Bozeman
Les Visser recently joined Buffalo Restoration as an estimator
and project manager. He owned and operated Visser-Grue
construction for 18 years and has a total of 36 years
experience in the construction and building industry.
Christopher Yanker Receives
Certification - 2/27/2001,
Bozeman
Christopher Yanker, apprentice at Buffalo Restoration,
received both the fire/smoke restoration and odor control
certifications from the IICRC. Yanker has worked for Buffalo
Restoration since 1998 and has been involved in the restoration
industry for his entire career.
Buffalo
Receives Big 50 Award - 5/1/2001,
Bozeman
Buffalo
Restoration, Inc. received a Big 50 Award for 2001 from
“Remodeling” magazine. This award is given
to recognize the highest quality in the industry, nationwide.
Ben Yanker, President of Buffalo Restoration, Inc. traveled
to Washington DC to be recognized for Buffalo’s
success.
Buffalo Restoration, Inc. is a local disaster restoration
company providing the following services to Southwest
Montana: Water Damage Restoration, Smoke & Fire Damage
Restoration, Mold Remediation, Carpet Cleaning, Duct Cleaning,
& Remodeling.
Buffalo Restoration, Inc. is located at 107 Bridger Center
Drive in Bozeman, MT. Individuals with questions can call
Ben Yanker at 406-586-8109.
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