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What Are Ice Dams?

 

Ice Dam

Ice Dam

 

What is an Ice Dam?

An ice dam is essentially a group of oversized, heavy icicles hanging from the edge of a roof that develop when snow on the roof melts and then refreezes near the gutters. They make look cool, but more often than not, they cause damage to roof shingles, which can in turn devalue your property or cost you thousands of dollars in roof damage.  The most common causes of ice dams are inadequate insulation in the home and poor roof ventilation.  Ice dams most often occur in ranch style houses or houses with low roof slopes and large overhangs.  They occur when snow is present on the roof and the outside temperature is below freezing (pretty much a given for us here  in Vermont!) Homes with poor insulation allow heat to escape from the living quarters into the attic. If the roof system is not properly ventilated, the heat will build up in the attic and warm the roof deck, melting the snow above. When the melted snow reaches cooler roof areas, usually the gutters or areas near the overhang (eaves) it will refreeze. This freeze-thaw process can damage shingled roofs since the ice can travel "upslope" and get underneath the shingles.

Prevention and Protection

Installing new shingles alone will not prevent ice dams.  Prevention only occurs when the entire roofing system is addressed, including attic insulation and roof ventilation.  Ideally, the temperature in the attic space should be close to the same temperature as the outside air.

Adding insulation to your attic will minimize the heat that escapes from the living space into the attic.  Additionally, electric outlets, plumbing vents, furnace stacks, and bathroom vents can allow heat to escape into the attic.

Proper roof ventilation allows that heat to escape and prevents your roof deck from warming.  The freeze-thaw process that results in ice damming is unlikely to occur on a roof that is properly ventilated.

Underlayments protect the roof deck from ice dams by creating a water-tight barrier between the shingles and the roof deck, but do not prevent ice damming from occurring.

Shoveling Your Roof

It is also important to keep your roof free from heavy snow during the winter months to prevent ice damming, as well as, worst case scenario, a roof cave in. Please be very careful if you decide to take on this dangerous job yourself! You could use a roof rake, but be careful not to damage your shingles. I wouldn't recommend climbing up on the roof yourself, so it's best to hire professionals who have prior experience with this task and who are insured in case of any accidents. Contact us and we'd be happy to recommend a  local, quality roofer, contractor or handyman to help you clear the snow and icicles off your roof this winter!

Remodeling Your Home and Cost vs. Value

Thinking about remodeling, renovating, upgrading or building an addition to your home? Well before you do, it may be wise to check out the Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report for 2010-2011 online. You can download a report for free which gives specifics on how much the typical remodel of a certain room or home upgrade will cost you and how much money you can expect to recoup once you sell your home. The report provides area specific information and average costs for remodeling projects for each region of the country. It's a wealth of knowledge!

For example, in Burlington, Vermont, the report claims some of the remodeling projects which give the highest return on investment are:

Vinyl Window Replacement - Cost: $9,400; Resale Value: $8,000; Cost Recoup: 85.2%.

Attic Bedroom Remodel which can cost approximately $42,000 and in an ideal market, you could potentially recoup about 80% of your investment or roughly $33,500.

Some examples of projects giving the lowest ROI include:

Home Office Remodel which apparently can cost as much as $26,000 and the resale value will only get a homeowner $11,400, therefore a 43.6% cost recoup.

Bathroom Addition with a cost of approximately $33,700 and offer a resale value of $17,500, so 51.9% recoup in money spent.

Another popular renovation project is the Kitchen Remodel! The Cost vs. Value Report offers three different figures on a Kitchen Remodel: Midrange Minor Kitchen Remodel, Midrange Major and Upscale Major Remodel. All of which give cost recoups of 62%, 69.6%, and 62.1% respectively!  Check out the report for specifics.

Now, keep in mind that these figures are all just averages and estimates. Renovation project costs can certainly vary and resale values can definitely vary depending on the real estate market and economy. If you have a prior relationship with a good general contractor and/or handy person or can do some of the work yourself, your costs could potentially decrease a bit. However, you should always leave major structural work, plumbing and electrical work to the experts! Work done by unskilled people or sloppy handy work can decrease the value of your property and/or create problems for later home inspections or appraisals! Also, waiting a few years to sell your property or waiting to sell until your real estate market is booming, can also increase your chance of a higher ROI. Plus wouldn't it be nice to get a few years to enjoy and make use of your recently remodeled kitchen, master suite, deck or bath?!

Here's a cute and informative video from Forbes' Investopedia website on calculating ROI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NQZfNgouLw

January is National Blood Donor Month!

Thumb's up to giving blood!

Thumb's up to giving blood!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to give back to my community more this year.

I've thought about volunteering somewhere but it seems hard to find the time. I've thought about cash donations, but sometimes cash isn't as fluid as you'd like! One easy way (if you're not afraid of needles, that is) is to give blood! The American Red Cross is always in need of healthy blood donors. And the Red Cross is always offers incentives for donating! So it's a win-win situation!

I went to give blood a few weeks back just before Christmas, but I had a cold at the time, so they denied me and said to come back when I was feeling healthy again. They still gave me the incentive of a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a lift ticket at Smuggler's Notch and a free movie pass to Essex Cinema! Yeah! So now I'm feeling better and will be making my appointment by going online at www.RedCrossBlood.org. You can also call 1-800-RED-CROSS or walk-in at any American Red Cross location. We have one at 32 North Prospect St. in Burlington. Sometimes they also set up Blood Drives. In fact, South Burlington is having one on Thursday, January 13th from 12-5 pm at St. John Vianney Church (Geri and her family's church) on Hinesburg Road.  All presenting donors will receive a coupon for a free 1 lb. bag of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts! Who doesn't love free coffee?!!

As for me, I'll pass on the free coffee only because they already gave me my incentives. Went and saw "Little Fockers" at the movie theater - hilarious flick - I give it 3.75 stars! And I have yet to get on my snowboard and hit up Smugg's, but as soon as we get some more snow, I'm there! I think I'll most likely be giving blood again this year, but they ask you wait 3 months in between donations.

What will you do to give back to the community this year?

-Keeley Higgins, Marketing Coordinator for Geri Reilly Real Estate

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