Ice Dams and Roofs: Useful Information Guide
By Roof Online Staff • Updated October 8, 2022
Related Pages
- Minimum Required Slope for Roofing Materials
- Roofing Underlayment
- Snow Issues and Roofs
- Ventilation and Roofing
- Weight of Snow by Snow Type
External Sources & References for Information about Ice Dams
1. General: “Preventing and Removing Ice Dams: A Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners” is a thorough and well-written article available on the website of the Breck Life Group.
2. General: The folks over at the University of Minnesota Extension cover all the bases on their ice dam page, with a nice diagram that illustrates how an ice dam forms and what kind of trouble it can cause.
3. General: You can see another good short article on preventing and dealing with ice dams in Popular Mechanics.
4. Building Codes: “R905.1.2 Ice Barriers” from the 2018 International Residential Code. Available at the UpCodes website.
5. Technical: “Guidelines for Ventilating Attics and Cathedral Ceilings to Avoid Icings at Their Eaves” is a very technical article (lots of math and graphs) available on the website of the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center.
6. Technical: “Prevent Ice Dams with Air Sealing and Insulation” – an excellent, excellent article available at the Green Building Advisor website. Be sure to read this before you do anything else about your ice dam issues.
7. Technical: “Preventing Problems from Ice Dams” is a brief technical bulletin available at the website of the Canadian Asphalt Shingle Manufacturers’ Association.
