Ice forming on Fascia ?

Hello Everyone,

Like many others in the NE, I have a thick layer of ice on my roof that's been there for over a month. The ice is covered with snow and is currently being drenched with rain. I noticed some water penetrating my kitchen cabinet and when I went to investigate in the attic, I noticed two problems; one was a roof leak above my kitchen, but the other I wasn't expecting .... When I looked out at the Fascia (I think this is the correct term?) on the opposite side of the house, I noticed ice forming. I attached some pictures of both problems.

Any thoughts on how this should be dealt with? The roof leak is in tricky spot and it looks like the water is seeping through the nails holes. All gutters are completely iced over. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance

 

This is a classic ice dam. Too little insulation combined with little or no air flow cases ice to form on your roof eventually backing up under your shingles and leaking in the house.

You can learn more here OVERVIEW: Roof Ice Dams & Icicles

 

I'll add some pictures to what Keith posted:
BSD-135: Ice Dams — Building Science Information

I just spent a rough day Sunday, rough at my age, shoveling off my roof. Although I'm making progress at eliminating the source/s of my ice dams, I still need to get that snow off, especially when rain will follow. You can go from a water leak to a disaster with too much weight up there.

Depending upon your style house and your abilities this may be a DIY or pray you can find a roof clearing contractor, but it needs to be done yesterday. In short order you can be facing thousands of dollars in damage.

Bud

 

A few other things that can cause this are no storm and ice shield under the shingles.
No drip edging.
It's very common up north to see what looks like standing seam metal roofing along the lower edge of the roof by 2' or 3'.
In your area there should have been R-50 of insulation in that attic.
That's about 12", sure looks like your well below that.
What's the soffit venting situation, and how is the roof vented?
Attic ever been air sealed? (air sealing is simply using expanding foam to seal up anyplace wiring, plumbing, ceiling fixtures run into the attic.

 

Thanks for the replies. With more moisture coming tonight I tried to remove as many of the ice damns as possible using a shovel and in some cases hot water. It's tough and I didn't get all of it, but I managed to free up the gutter and downspout below where I had the leak last night. I can see that it would be easy to damage the gutters and/or shingles while doing this work.

My roof does not have a ridge vent, but does have several vents in the attic ceiling that allow air flow. I do not have any soffit vents. I've have been meaning to add insulation to this attic. However, I haven't investigated how to do it. I’m concerned about moisture getting on fiber glass insulation and was hoping there might be some type of foam board insulation that I could use. What are your thoughts on that? The picture with the ice forming is over a front porch. There is no insulation on the attic ceiling or on the wood over the porch. Should I add insulation to both the attic ceiling & between the floor joists? Many areas of this attic are uninsulated. The upper attic has been spray foamed and is pretty well insulated. Another question, do you think I need to repair the shingles where the water got in yesterday? I’ve never had a leak there before, but I’ve never had a pool of water sitting on my roof before.

I've only been in this house for about 18 months and I've discovered a number of problems. Last year, I had water pouring out of my sofits when it rained and it turned out that there was a gap between the edge of the roof plywood and the fascia, There wasn’t any tar paper to close the gap, just the roofing shingles, and when it rained I got water in my basement. I ended up putting flashing under the shingles to close the gap and it worked. I haven’t had issues with that since. Overall, I think the roof is in pretty good shape.

Thanks again everyone.

 

Ok, first things first, you must get your soffit vents in. That is the most important step in preventing ice dams from happening in the first place. If you have wooden soffits, you can just drill holes in them, and get vents that pop in the holes. In addition, you will need rafter vents. This is just a piece of preformed styrofoam or cardboard that goes from the open soffit to your attic space, against the bottom side of the roof deck. This well help ensure airflow and keep any heat that enters the attic from reaching the roof deck, melting snow and causing the ice dam.

Once your vents are in place, go around a seal any penetrations through the ceiling in the attic, like plumbing vents or wires with a can of spray foam. If you have pot lights, seal them in the attic with poly to prevent air flow. Next you will insulate. There are many choices depending on what kind of performance you want and how much you want to spend. No matter what product you choose, try to get around R40-R50 in there. There is nothing wrong with fiberglass. If you are getting moisture in your attic that will get your insulation wet, that needs to be addressed. (air sealing and proper venting will address it).

Be VERY careful chipping away at ice on the roof. It is easy to take a big chunk of roofing with the ice. It is best to wait for a warm sunny day, and use hot water until the bond between the ice and roof is released. If your shingles are not damaged, there is no need to replace them. The next time your roof is done though, make sure ice and water shield is installed on the eaves. It is code, but many people dont use the proper products.