Roof Ice Dam Skylight

Heat loss around the skylight will melt snow on the roof immediately adjacent to the skylight.

Roof ice dam skylight.

Skylights are dangerous for ice dam removal techs. This scenario is often the result of a warm attic. Skylights are snazzy but they can complicate ice dam removal. Even if the light well and skylight curb are well insulated there s going to be considerable heat loss through the glazing whether it s glass or acrylic.

They interfere with roof ventilation and contribute to ice dams. If your home is ice dam resistant in those respects and you install flashing and ice and water shield around your skylight it should not be a problem area. Having a skylight makes your roof more prone to forming ice dams melted snow that has refrozen around the outer edges of the skylight which can prevent rainwater runoff or melt and create a. We can t always see them.

Standard roof ventilation can be a real pain if there is a skylight in the way. Ice dams are the most common cause of leaks in the winter allow us to clear channels at the eaves of your roof. Heat cables can be installed to minimize ice formation and retention on roofs with them you can prevent a lot of damage to your roof that can result from the buildup of ice dams. An ice dam is a solid ridge of ice that forms along the edges of your roof.

Ice dams form below skylights because the snow that sits on the warm glass melts and then re freezes on the cold roof surface below and bam ice dams below a skylight. Stop ice dams with a cold roof. While it may seem like the perfect solution to ice dam formation heat cables come with quite a few disadvantages as well. This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing.

Skylights cause problems on the exterior as well. Ice dams can occur around skylights because of the heat loss through the glass or acrylic area. A well ventilated roof needs clear air flow from the soffit to the roof peak. If you have skylights it s important to know of those complications so that your ice dam removal job goes off without a hitch.

A skylight would disrupt that flow stopping the air flow below the. Once this thick ice forms it prevents melting snow from running off the roof. You need to tell us about any skylights. Skylights are beautiful and they let natural light fill a room.

But if you want to eliminate virtually all chances of ice dam related leaks around your skylight you ll want to rake your roof so as to keep the area free of snow.