Monday was a day full of stories from fellow agents about ice dams at their listings and from the ice dam that clogged our roof drain and caused our roof to leak in about 1/2 dozen places in the building and created standing water in several spots.
Most of the houses that are suffering from water damage from ice dams this winter have problems not with their roof but with their insulation – a properly insulated (and vented) attic shouldn’t see the ice buildup that creates most leaks. The older your house is the more likely it is that you have a problem: old houses had very little insulation installed and often had practically zero air sealing around light fixtures in the finished ceilings, which leads to a chimney effect from your rooms through to the roof. Proper sealing and insulation isn’t that terrible expensive, $1000-$2500 in many cases, and the energy savings will pay for the improvements in the coming years.
It is never too late to insulate!
