Shields up: it’s just about winter! If you’re concerned about keeping your home leak-free during the fall and winter months, you’ll want to look at different ways to keep your roof in good repair. One way to help reduce leaks is to install a water and ice shield on your roof. What is an ice shield?

The Problem of Winter

Winter is beautiful, but all of that glorious snow and ice brings problems every single year as well. While heavy rainfall and snowmelt can lead to problems if your roof has a small hole, ice dams can cause some of the worst damage. An ice dam occurs when water backs up and freezes along a space in your roof, often near the edge. As the water turns into ice, it pushes roofing materials up, and when it thaws it can leak into your home.

What is an Ice Shield?

It’s a product that sticks to the wood under the roofing material, and it helps prevent leaks. How does it do this? Ice shields contain rubberized asphalt that has a sticky backing. It sticks to the wooden roof without nails. It’s designed to be leak-proof. You must install your ice shield underneath a new roof, so it’s best to plan the installation when you plan to renew your roofing.

An ice shield is particularly helpful in areas with severe weather such as driving rain and hurricanes. It will stop water that’s moving sideways into your roofing. Ice shields are also very useful in climates that have freeze-thaw conditions since water can more easily move under your roof, but it’s ice that pushes up your roofing and causes a lot more damage.

How is an Ice Shield Different From Traditional Roofing?

While traditional roofing has felt paper underneath, this paper poses a problem. Felt needs to be nailed onto the roof, and these nails make tiny holes that can lead to leakage over time. Water moves under the head of the nail and trickles down into the wood, moving slowly into the areas underneath the roof.

Other Ways to Support Your Roof

Your roof needs excellent roofing materials, but it also needs the support of the drainage systems around it. If you have an ice and water shield or you’re not thinking of installing one until you change your roofing, you can always benefit from clean, clear gutters. As fall storms and winter snowfall, you need to ensure that you can maintain good drainage as the leaves and rainfall and the snow melts. Install gutters that integrate gutter covers to reduce blockages in your gutters, or add gutter heating products that prevent ice from building up and damaging your drainage systems or roofing.

When you’re looking for a roof that’s as leak proof as can be, contact Lednor Home Solutions. Our innovative gutter guard and heating products work to keep water flowing through your gutters all winter long. Do you want to install gutters that really work in snowy and icy conditions? Contact us today for more information.