Why Do Icicles Hang From The Roof

Icicles themselves usually don t cause damage.

Why do icicles hang from the roof.

Icicles usually form right along the bottom edge of a roof. It s simply a result of insufficient attic insulation or poorly installed insulation. Those methods can improve ice dam and icicle buildup but it can t eliminate them because they only address the symptoms. Regardless of how well an attic is insulated or ventilated or how well the roof is installed icicles can form off the edge of any roof.

When snow accumulates on a rooftop an unevenly heated attic can melt pockets of snow high. If your attic has insufficient insulation or improper ventilation so that your attic becomes warm this will heat the roof and cause the snow to melt. If they are little icicles this is a sign that the problem might not be that bad just yet. Icicles hanging along the eaves of your house may look beautiful but they spell trouble.

Icicles form when snow accumulates on your roof and then melts. That s because the same conditions that allow icicles to form snow covered roofs and freezing weather also lead to ice dams. In this manner. When the meltwater reaches the colder eaves the part of the roof that extends beyond the walls the water refreezes and creates a buildup of ice along the edge of your roofline says this old house.

So icicles hanging from a roof s edge may be a sign of an ice dam. However because most ice and snow cannot enter your gutters it will melt and dissipate more quickly. Will icicles damage my roof. If the icicles hanging off your roof are an inch or longer you probably have an ice dam on your hands.

As the sun shines onto your roof it will melt the snow and ice on the surface level first which means the icicles will disappear and the gutters will be free flowing immediately rather than after days or weeks of thawing and refreezing. But it is a sign that there is snow on your roof. If you do you re at a low risk for ice dams and rooftop snow removal is less essential albeit still recommended. Thick ridges of solid ice that build up along the eaves.

As it melts the water flows towards gutters or the edge of the roof where it freezes again forming icicles. Ice dams and icicles can t be solved with new gutters a new roof ice guard on the roof or heat cables the wavy wires you see on the bottom edge of roofs on a lot of older homes. Icicles form simply because water running off a roof in above zero weather will start to freeze as the temperature drops below zero most often on mild sunny days followed by cold nights. So if you see icicles always forming on your roof edge this is also a sign of an ice dam.

This is why you can leave the small ones alone. However ice dams can form without the presence of any large icicles. Whether it s icicles or ice damming it could lead to water leakage in parts of the attic and even through the ceiling and walls.