We all are familiar with New York winter weather, but it seems like each winter brings heavier, more damaging snowfalls that knockout power and bring our communities to a standstill. Taking care of your homes before the snowfall is important to keep your home safeguarded from the storms and snow. In your winter preparations keep these tips in mind to prevent gutter damage.
One way that our New York winter weather can cause gutter damage is ice buildup. Ice buildup in your gutters prevents the flow of melted snow to your down spouts for proper drainage. The stacked up ice and snow causes the run off to flow over the lip of your 0.1
Another equall.y troubling problem are ice dams. Ice dams start when snow builds up on your roof. Over time, the snow will begin to melt, even if the temperature stays below freezing. The heat from within your home warms your roof and melts the snow from beneath. The run off then enters your gutters, which remain colder than your roof, and re-freezes, creating an ice dam that prevents proper drainage of the snow melt. With ice dams formed, overexposure to moisture is prolonged. As the ice slowly melts over time, water seeps beneath shingles, under tarpaper, and eventually into the plywood beneath, causing damage to your roof, fascia and soffit.
To prevent ice dams and buildup make sure to clean out your gutters prior to winter, after all the leaves have fallen from surrounding trees. Clogged gutters will only speed up the process of ice damming and over flow when the gutters fill up with ice and snow. To keep the snow on your roof from melting, make sure your roof is well insulated, and that warm air is not escaping. Another way gutters are damaged from snow and ice is from bearing the excessive weight of a big snowfall. Even our gutters that are professionally installed can give to the weight of snow and ice, and break away from their hangers and fall to the ground.