Ice Dams & Roof Leaks

7/3/2019 (Permalink)

Pictured is our very own Luke Snyder talking to the 4th graders about how he calculates area for his job.

This past winter/early spring was very difficult for many Wisconsin property owners. In March we had multiple storms pass through in a short amount of time that dumped a great deal of snow, rain and freezing rain, creating conditions that were perfect for ice damming on roofs. Many homes and businesses that don’t ordinarily have problems with ice damming were seeing it for the first time.     

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. As snow melts from your roof, either by the heat of the sun, or by heat escaping from your home, it tends to refreeze at the edges and other juncture points of your roof. The refreezing of water has a damming effect creating an even bigger ice dam behind it. Continuous feeding of the ice dam by melting and refreezing snow melt can cause significant damage. As the water seeps under shingles it refreezes expanding and creating an even bigger gap for future drainage to fill and further the cycle. Your shingles are being raised and eventually the water that backs up behind the dam, and underneath the shingles, can leak into your home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and create a perfect environment for mold growth.

We had so many calls from homes and businesses experiencing water damage from ice damming that we had to activate our National Storm Team.  We brought crews from other franchises throughout the country to assist as many customers as possible.  We are the only restoration company in the business with the ability to do this. 

One of our customers during this time was a private school in the Fox Valley area.  To properly dry the structure, we had to suck wet insulation out of the ceiling.  We then had to calculate how much insulation we needed to replace the wet insulation.  As our Project Manager Luke was in a hallway calculating the area with his team, a teacher overheard their conversation and asked Luke if he would be willing to talk to the class about what they were doing as it related to their current lesson.  Luke was thrilled to help and the school posted about it on their Facebook Page.   

Valley Christian School

March 21 · 

Thankful for teachers who never miss an opportunity turn every experience (good or challenging) into an opportunity to learn. Exhibit 1- Here is Luke from SERVPRO of Appleton & SERVPRO of Winnebago County (in our building for a week taking care of water damage) giving 4th graders a lesson on AREA, and how he calculates and uses it in his job every day. Thank you Luke for going above and beyond and thank you Mrs. Wiedenhaupt and Mr. Gross for seizing the opportunity!