How We Prevent Ice Dams on Roy, WA Roofs
Roy sees snow on the ground about 4 days a year, and only 1.8 days a year bring 1 in or more. Heavy-snow days of 4 in or more average 0.18 a year. Most winters pass with little trouble. The risk comes in the rare big storm.
Recent storms show the pattern. Feb 11–15, 2021 brought 15.4 in in total, with 7.1 in on the biggest day. Feb 5–6, 2017 brought 9.9 in, and Feb 9, 2019 brought 7.4 in in a single day. The biggest single day since 2005 was 8.3 in. After a storm like that, snow sits on a roof while nights stay below freezing. Meltwater then runs to the cold eave and turns to ice.
Prevention focuses on the roof edge and the snow load above it. A visit to a Roy home can include:
- Checking eaves, gutters and downspouts for blockage and ice build-up
- Clearing snow from the lower roof edge to reduce the melt that feeds a dam
- Looking for places where heat escapes and melts snow unevenly
- Keeping drainage paths open so meltwater can leave the roof
We work from the ground where we can and take care with roofing materials. Because Roy storms are infrequent, we scope each job to the forecast and the property. Call 206-809-9669 for a quote.