Icicles can mean trouble
Its been a hard few weeks in St. Johns and surrounding areas. High winds, cold temperatures and heavy snowfall. Its a good time to consider the effectiveness of your homes attic. Current conditions are providing us with lots of visible icicles and ice dams and these are great indicators of potential problems with your attic.
Here how it works and what to look for:
When sun shines on your roof its solar heat will begin melting the snow on top. Also, any heat leaking from your house will also melt the snow from underneath. As the snow changes to water and it will of course begin to run down the roof. When the water reaches a cold spot, typically a valley, overhang or gutter, the water refreezes and turns to ice. Ice catching up at the eave or in a valley forms an ice damn and water dripping over the end of a cold roof will form icicles.
We can contrast this with a well insulated roof. The snow will stay cold (no heat from the roof) and thus no water source will be availale for the icicles to form. When the outside temperature warms up overall and the snow does turn to water, it will not hit a cold spot on the way down the roof and icicles will not form.
Sources of attic heat:
Considering that we want our attic to remain cold, there are typically two unwanted causes of heat in the attic.Insufficient insulation - This will allow heat to enter the attic from the living area below. The warm air in the attic will keep parts of the roof warm and contribute to the snow melting off the roof.
Inadequate roof ventilation - Without adequate roof ventilation in the attic, any heat inside cannot escape. This will allow the heat to buildup, contribute to melting the snow on the roof and often lead to the formation of ice dams or icicles.
Conclusion:
When you see icicles hanging off the roof of that home you are thinking of purchasing, beware. There could very likely be heat loss due to poor insulation, or other warm air leaking up into the attic. It would be a good idea to have it checked before going any further.
If you have any questions about ice damning, icicles or other issues with the home you are about to purchase then please contact me at (709) 689-6454.
For a professional home inspection in St. John's, NL. or surrounding areas, please contact the professional home inspection company you can trust...
www.guardianhomeinspections.ca
Ph. (709) 689-6454
