When most people think of components of a roof, they mostly think of shingles. Many people aren’t familiar with other components that go into a successful roof replacement. One of the most important roofing components besides shingles is the ice and water shield. Ice and water shield is a self-adhering leak barrier that is placed on the most vulnerable areas of your roof to prevent leaks.
Ice and water shield is placed along the eaves, valleys, around chimneys, and other penetrations on your roof.
Ohio state code requires ice and water to be two feet inside a heated wall. This is required in Ohio due to the potential of ice damns that can occur during the winter months. Ice dams form when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the snow on the roof and causes the water to trickle down towards your gutters. Once the water trickles down past the attic area of your house, it can freeze again if it’s cold enough outside. Once it freezes again, and ice dam starts to form by the gutters. This can push ice, and moisture up underneath the shingles along the eaves and cause a leak. The ice and water shield is placed along the eaves to prevent any leaks from these ice dams.
Another area that you’ll see ice and water is used during your roof replacement is in the valleys of your house. A valley is where two roof slopes meet. When it rains, the valleys take on a high volume of water and are more vulnerable to leaks. The ice and water shield is placed in the valleys as extra protection and will help the water drain towards the gutter if water happens to get under the shingles in the area.
Any penetrations, such as chimneys, and exhaust pipes on your roof are also more vulnerable to leaks. Ice and water shield is placed around these penetrations as extra protection against water that may happen to get in these areas. The ice and water shield will keep the water above the roof deck and shed the water on top of the synthetic felt paper and eventually shed the water back down to the shingles.
Ice and water shield is a vital part of your roof. As a homeowner, you should make sure that your roofing contractor is using ice and water shield on all of these areas discussed above or you could experience leaks with your brand new roof.
Kerrigan Roofing and Restorationhas installed thousands of roofs in the Greater Dayton and Dublin, Ohio areas. We have a great process in place to ensure a successful roof replacement from start to finish. Give us a call today so we can get started on your roof replacement project. Call us at (937) 761-2994 or (614) 373-2519.
SCHEDULE APPOINTMENT
"(Required)" indicates required fields