Ice Dam Removal / Prevention

Why pay for ice dam removal when you can pay the same amount of money to prevent it.

"14 years of icicles SOLVED in one day."

What Are Ice Dams? How Are They Different From Icicles?

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas. Figure 1 shows a cross section of a home with an ice dam.

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Start With A Free Estimate

"14 years of icicles solved in one day." Green Attic Insulation can solve ice dam issues in most cases by eliminating heat sources warming the underside of the sheathing. Ventilation, Insulation, Air Sealing

Visible Evidence of Ice Dams

Ice at the eaves

Icicles hanging on the roof for long periods of time

Water stains under the eaves

Water stains and damage visible on exterior walls.

can you Remove An Ice Dam Yourself?

The short answer is yes.

3 Steps To Eliminating An Ice Dam:

Shovel off snow close to the ledge
Use a shovel or pick to clear the ice by the ledge
Use ice melting chemicals to prevent future build-up (this is a short term solution)

Best Practice:

The only long-term solution is to have proper insulation so the roof won’t reach temperatures capable of creating Ice dams. That’s where we come in!

Ice dams were a major problem for homeowners in February 2021. Take a look at this photo of a home in Skokie Illinois. “An icicle is simply a measuring stick of heat loss” Tim Darling. Take a look at your neighborhood, if there are homes with no icicles they have air sealed and insulated properly. If you have any icicles at all, any, they are unacceptable, they may look beautiful on postcards, but they are indicators of heat escape from the living space. If you had to build a fire and were loosing heat you will have to add more logs to the fire. Same thing applies, you are cycling your furnace. Warming the underside of the roof sheathing and creating snow melt.

Step by Step Real Example - Client Experience with Green Attic February 20th, 2021 #Skokie IL

Step #1

1. Green Attic schedules a visit for a free insulation evaluation with James Minsky.

Step #2

2.Inspection begins with a brief tour of the home, where the client shows James the different rooms of the home.

Step #2

2.Inspection begins with a brief tour of the home, where the client shows James the different rooms of the home.

Step #3

3. James is able to see from the exterior of the home where the heat is primarily being lost and from which rooms of the home are closer to the roof deck, etc

Step #4

4. James uses his thermal imager to show the temperature of the underside attic sheathing ( roof deck ) where it measures warmer than the freezing point of 32F. Linking the cause of the ice dams to heat escape from the attic and cathedral ceilings in the home.

Step #5

5. James provides an itemized estimate ( cost per sq ft) and reviews the estimate with the client on the spot to make sure the solutions meet the lead need of the client ( to prevent ice dams in the future.)

Step #6

n includes a.) dense packing cathedral ceilings with cellulose to seal unreachable gaps, seams, and penetrations which fiberglass are not effective in blocking b.) air sealing the attic floor to prevent heat escape from the bypass and penetrations in the intended pressure barrier of the living space c.) installing baffles in every bay at the soffit / eave to allow each joist bay to pull fresh exterior air intake d.) insulation over the hatch cover e.) solar powered active ventilation to draw fresh air into the attic and keep it similar to exterior temperatures f.) Premium Cellulose Blown in up to 18″ to achieve R-60 thermal resistance. . .

Step #7

7. The client agrees to move forward with the full treatment plan and Green Attic schedules the work to be done within the month.

Step #8

8. Green Attic teams perform the work as prescribed and agreed upon in the proposal completing the work in 2 business days, while the clients are able to remain home and work remotely.

Step #9

9. The client leaves a five star review on google to share their experience and help spread the word about an efficient, affordable, realistic, effective treatment to prevent ice dams in the future.

Step #10

10. The remaining weeks of winter are proof positive the results are instant. The very next week, no snow melts from the roof deck.

Insulation, Ventilation, Air Sealing Can Diminish Icicles

Why pay for ice dam removal when you can pay the same amount of money to prevent it permanently.

“14 years of icicles solved in one day.” Green Attic Insulation can solve ice dam issues in most cases by eliminating heat sources warming the underside of the sheathing. Ventilation, Insulation, Air Sealing

The entire experience was good. They are knowledgeable, hard working, and cleaned up when finished. This is the second time I used them. The first time was when I finished my basement. We're happy with both jobs. I wish my rehab contractor was this good. Updated- this is the third time I've used them and will do so again. They came, worked, cleaned, and left. Easy breezy.

I purchased the Energy Audit and I couldn't be happier with the results. After consulting with several different companies about my home's thermal efficiency/heat loss issues, I wasn't satisfied at all. It seems that almost any contractor I talked to just wanted to recommend their own solution, rather than help me accurately diagnose the issues. One company said I needed to spray foam the rim joists (they're a spray foam co.), another said I need to blow cellulose into the wall cavities from the outside of the house (just happens to be their specialty), another individual contractor told me to frame one specific room and use fiberglass batting (I guess that's just what he knows best). You get what you pay for and no free quote is free when all you ever get is a recommendation to do what the company likes to do best. So I decided to pay for an energy audit in an attempt to get an unbiased opinion of the real issues so I could make the best decision and hopefully not waste money doing this piecemeal without a holistic understanding or a good/better/solution. Tim from Green Attic Insulation was incredibly thorough and interactive, showing me every cold spot in the house with a thermal camera, then setup a blower door and showed me again how air was getting in and causing most of the issues. We talked about the basement, the attic, the walls and how his experience with other homes in the area informed his understanding of the issues in my home. That's exactly what you should look for in a contractor, someone who is willing to take a close look, explain the science, give recommendations without getting the work, and follow-up with all results and photos, regardless of further work. You have to pay for that, you can't just hope that you get it from a free quote. Best part: Tim gave me pointers on how to address many of the issues myself since I'm comfortable doing some things myself. I also got quotes for further work if I wanted to take it to the next level after I've addressed the quick wins on my own, and those quotes were very reasonable and competitive.

Another wonderful experience working with Green Attic! After the wonderful job they did on my unit after it flooded, I talked with my board condo association about hiring them to do some work for our building. Green Attic, again, proved to be a big hit! The residents are very pleased with the work that they did. It's always a pleasure to see James and the contractors are so easy to work with. We hope to utilize Green Attic in the future for our building. Thank you guys and Alina!