ICE DAMS BIG PROBLEM THIS YEAR
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 -- 2:59 PM
As residents across Wisconsin shovel away the remnants of the weekend snowstorm, one snow-removal expert is advising them to keep their roofs as snow-free as possible.Jerry Haasl is the owner of snow-removal company Central Home Improvement in Wisconsin Rapids. He says most people think the threat from snow on a roof is the weight.
But he says the bigger threat is ice dams. Those form on roof edges when heavy snowfall is combined with rain and long-term cold.
As heat inside a home rises, it melts the first layers of snow on a roof. The water freezes along the roof edge, forming an ice dam that can cause more water to collect and leak inside.
Haasl says his company has already cleared three times as many roofs as it did all of last year.
He says people can do it themselves but they should do it from the ground to avoid falling.
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