ICE DAMS: WINTER'S ROOF TAX
The ice dam is New York's specialty: heat escapes into a poorly-vented attic, warms the roof deck, and melts the underside of the snow. That water runs down — under the snow blanket — until it hits the cold overhang at the gutter, where it refreezes into a growing wall of ice. Behind that wall, water pools, backs up underneath the shingles, and leaks into exterior walls and ceiling corners — often in rooms that don't even sit under that part of the roof.
Shingles shed falling water. They cannot stop a standing pool. That's the whole story of ice dam damage, and one bad February can do more harm than ten years of rain.
Real prevention (in order of importance)
- Attic ventilation — a properly breathing attic keeps the deck cold, so snow melts from the sun, not from your heating bill
- Air sealing & insulation — stop the warm air from reaching the deck in the first place
- Ice & water shield — a rubberized membrane under the shingles at eaves and valleys; the last line of defense that makes a backup survivable
When a roof is replaced, all three get addressed at once — which is why a proper replacement is as much a system upgrade as a shingle swap.
Common questions
They treat the symptom at the gutter line but don't address the melt-refreeze cycle above. Ventilation and air sealing fix the cause.
Interior water damage from ice dams is often covered; the roof wear that allowed it usually is not. Policies vary — check yours before winter.
New York code requires it to extend from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line — quality installs often go further, and it belongs in every valley.
Ridge Exteriors opens in 2026 with honest, attic-first inspections across Staten Island & Brooklyn — photos documented, straight verdicts, including "it's fine."
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