Lake Tahoe Real Estate – #1 Call this week!

FREEZE BACK PREVENTION

Just yesterday, we received calls from three of our past clients. Two more had called on the previous day. Another today. The perplexed callers all had the same questions. “There is water coming in through the roof/window/floor (the locations varied). What do I do, who do I call?

So… what do you do and who do you call? Most of the roofers have headed south for the winter. If “freeze back” is the cause (and in all five of the previous cases, it was) the first thing you need to do is remove some of the snow and ice that has accumulated over the edges of your roofline, usually on the North side of th house. It is generally recommended to remove close to 5 feet in width.

Here’s the general problem – roofs with inadequate ventilation ice up in snowy conditions. This can lead to ice dams at the roof edge which prevents melting water from the upper section of the roof from flowing off the roof. This water then ponds at the ice dam and leaks under the shingles. These leaks can travel through the roof structure and can cause considerable water damage. Prevention can be aided by installing heating cables on roofs (especially the north side of the house) and in gutters. Further advice is to check to see that pine needles have not accumulated throughout valleys within the roof design. These nests of pine needles will also assist in the creation of ice dams.

Since it is difficult to install heating cables with the current 4 – 6 feet of snow on our roofs and even more difficult to remove pine needles, you may have to work in stages. Most importantly, begin the removal of the snow and ice at the edges. Our best suggestion at this time is to call some folks associated with snow removal, and/or a general contractor. If you are at a loss for names and numbers, give Don a call. He has been handing out these numbers the past few days and probably has them memorized by now.

Once the work is done – go skiing. It’s fabulous.