As temperatures slowly warm up and with rain expected in parts of the Maritimes this weekend, homeowners are preparing for quite a mess.
David Oxford spent the morning on his roof removing snow and ice buildup, almost a metre high, in anticipation of the rainfall expected over the weekend.
“I'm worried a bit about ice jamming. If there gets to be a lot of water underneath the accumulated snow, I could get ice jams,” says Oxford.
In Beechville, N.S. housing contractor Tamara Barker Watson was spotting her crews as they cleared snow and ice from the roof at their office, all in an effort to prevent ice jams.
“It will come up under your shingles and start leaking in through your buildings,” says Barker Watson. “It can come in through your attic and ruin all your insulation…and just cause general drywall damage, insulation and all that kind of stuff and if the water sits, then you've got mold issues and rot. So you definitely don't want that sitting around up there.”
Ice dams occur when escaping heat from your attic melts the roof bound ice, clogging gutters, freezing over, and eventually working its way up the roof.
“It's not so much the snow if there's no ice under it, but most people can tell by their gutters are overflowing with ice, they've got huge icicles,” says Barker Watson.
Barker Watson says there are a few things to remember if you decided to clear the snow and ice from your rooftop. Make sure to use a sturdy ladder, have someone to spot you from the ground, and use a plastic shovel so you don’t damage the shingles or your rooftop.
“I've seen people up there with axes and sledgehammers, they're gonna need all new shingles come summer and what kind of water damage is going to happen if the shingles are chipped or torn off by a steel shovel,” says Barker Watson.
Flooding and leaking through the roof is not the only concern for homeowners, it is also important to clear away snow from the foundation of your home,
“Most people right now are struggling to get their driveways cleared off, but they should get the snow away from their windows as well to allow the rain to just roll down and go,” says Barker Watson. “More important, in window wells and stairwells in your foundation, they have pipes in the bottom of them, drains, and if they're covered then the water has no choice than to back up and come in over the lip of your door or in through the lip of your window.”
The weight from all that snow and ice can also cause roofs to collapse, although that's more of a concern for buildings that are older or have a flat roof.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Matt Woodman
