Prevent Ice Damage To Your Home

1/8/2018 (Permalink)

Snow turns to ice turns to damage to your home. Here's how to avoid it.

Ice storms are hard to predict and even harder to deal with. But you can take steps to prevent your home or your office from suffering ice damage. Even after a damaging ice storm you can take actions that can mitigate future damage. The following steps will help you keep your repair costs down and allow you to keep your home or business as safe as from ice damage as possible. 

Please don’t think of ice as just a minor annoyance. Ice can wreak major havoc. But even little steps can make a difference. If a storm is coming make sure you keep your windows shut, your water taps dripping, and your cabinets open. These steps can help prevent freezing and allow you to avoid burst pipes. 

Prevent ice dams
When water freezes, melts, and then refreezes on the edge of your roof it can create an ice dam in your gutters and on the roof. Ice dams can cause water to leak into your home and damage ceilings, walls, insulation and other areas.

What you can do now

Add insulation to your attic. Also, make sure you insulate recessed lighting fixtures so they don’t heat up your attic. For more, see Bob Villa’s How To Avoid Ice Dams And Water Damage.

What to do after a storm

Remove the snow from your roof with a roof rake, especially if 6 inches or more accumulates. Do not use a regular rake, because you can damage the shingles and gutters. 

Assess your roof’s risk of collapse
Your roof can support a lot of weight. Most roofs in good condition can support about 20 pounds per square foot of snow. Homes in the SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield region and other extreme weather areas are often built to withstand much more. Ten to 12 inches of snow equals about 1 inch of water or about 5 lbs. per square feet of roof. So unless you have more than 4 feet of snow on your roof – assuming your roof is not old or damaged – you are unlikely to have a cave-in.

What you can do now

Determine that your roof is in good condition. Check your attic and look for daylight through the boards, dark streaks or stains, sagging or leaks or water damage. See problems? Call SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield.

What to do after a storm

If you have 6 inches or more of snow on your roof remove it with a snow rake. If ice has caused structural damage ask a restoration service like SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield to look at it. 

Call SERVPRO Of Bloomfield/Enfield for Cleanup and Restoration. Call (860) 216-2785. 

Keep your gutters clear
Clogged gutters can back up and flood your home or business or saturate the ground and damage the foundation.

What you can do now

Clear your gutter of debris (if you do this yourself, make sure you properly brace the ladder, and that you wear gloves for the chore). Be sure water drains at least 10 feet away from your home’s foundation.

What to do after a storm

Clearing your gutters is still the first step. Make sure you remove any tree limbs that could fall. 

Prepare your home’s pipes
No one wants to return home and find a pipe has frozen, burst, and flooded the home. But it happens all the time. Pipes in bathrooms and laundry rooms located near garages or exterior facing walls are especially vulnerable to freezing.

What you can do now

Close any crawl spaces and add extra insulation near any water pipes. Consider buying space heaters to keep questionable rooms warm if frigid temperatures hit. Never turn the heat off when you leave your home.

What to do if after a storm

Besides using a space heater in rooms where pipes are vulnerable, open the vanity doors so that air circulates and keeps pipes warm. 

Call SERVPRO Of Bloomfield/Enfield for Cleanup and Restoration. Call (860) 216-2785. 

Don’t let ice damage grow into water damage
Left untreated, ice can lead to major water damage. Water quickly ruins carpet and personal items, and can cause mold and make structural damage worse. As soon as you notice water on the ground or on your walls, make sure to call SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield. Get to water damage quickly enough and you can get the area dried out and prevent or lessen further damage. Waiting too long gives the water chance to cause more problems, and you might even deal with more damage if the water freezes again. More information about preventing ice damage is at The Hartford’s Extra Mile in Nancy Dunham’s article, “12 Tips to Ice Out Ice This Winter.” 

Help Is Here
The team at SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield also has specialized training and experience in fire restoration services, natural disaster prevention, water damage, chemical cleanup, and natural disaster cleanup. Call SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield (860.216.2785) anytime. 

More Information On Our Blog
You can learn more by reading other posts on this blog:
Frozen Pipes!
Roof Leaks

SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield
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100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
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