As beautiful as it is, snow can cause serious damage when it melts in and around your home. Ice dams, flooded basements and concrete damage are among the three most common problems melting snow causes, and each condition has simple fixes.
Ice Dams
They may signify a cozy home in pictures, but in reality, ice dams are signs of attic and roof problems. When snow melts, it trickles to the edges of the roof where it often freezes, forming the ice dams. They take longer to melt than snow, and as they slowly drip, the water can penetrate the fascia boards, the attic rafters and into the exterior walls.
Snow melts in areas of the roof where the attic insulation is lacking or the gutters along the roof edges are clogged. The best ways to avoid ice dams is by adding enough insulation to the attic to prevent the heat from rising through the ceilings into the attic space. There may be ceiling leaks where warm air directly enters. Sealing them will keep more heat in the rooms and less in the attic. Cleaning the gutters before the snow falls will speed the drainage.
Basement Flooding
Too much water accumulating around the exterior walls of the home can cause basement flooding, as can widespread flooding from water bodies like rivers, streams and lakes. Other than sandbags, there’s little you can do to prevent this type of flooding when it’s widespread.
However, it is possible to minimize the damage from flooding around the foundation’s perimeter by maintaining the grade of the slope around the home so it drains water away from the walls instead of toward it. Avoid landscaping that hugs the home’s perimeter to prevent soil erosion and water logging the soils next to the foundation.
Your drainage system itself is obviously very important for flood prevention. A working sump pump will pull the water out of the basement as it trickles in from the joint between the basement floor and its walls. Test the pump operation throughout the winter. It’s also a good idea to have the drain cleaned periodically by a company like Art Douglas Plumbing Inc. so that the flood water will drain quickly into the sewer or septic system.
Concrete Damage
When snow melts, it can wreak havoc with concrete surfaces. The water will seep into the concrete. When it freezes, the moisture inside will expand, and eventually the concrete will crack. Keeping the snow off the patios, driveways and sidewalks will prevent some of the seepage, as will coating the surfaces with penetrating sealers when weather permits.
Snow melt damage control does take some time, money and energy. In the long run it’s worth it to prevent the problems excessive moisture in and around your home than fix the problems that it eventually creates.
