If you have skylights you need to understand that they will complicate your ice dam removal job. They can also cause roof leaks that most homeowners will never suffer from.
Seal Skylights in Summer
Many of the skylights we deal with each winter are not sealed properly. As a result, they tend to become the sight of major roof leaks, especially during ice dam removal. All of that ice becomes lots and lots of water, which in turn cascades through the bad seal and into your home.
The only time anyone can do anything about this is during the warmer months. A handyman can put in some fresh caulking if yours is cracked, brittle, or weak. In addition, they can take a look at your flashing. If you don’t have any you’ll need to install some, and if it’s not installed properly you’re going to need to get the handyman to fix that for you.
Remember, when we’re removing ice dams we’re sending many gallons of water cascading down the slope of your roof (melted snow). You do not want to have what amounts to a great big hole in your roof when we do that.
This leads us to the next thing you need to know.
If you have a skylight you should consider staying home on ice dam removal day.
Many homeowners want to rush to work. They figure our technicians are working outside of the home so there’s no reason to stick around.
For most homeowners, that’s true.
But when you have a skylight we need you inside and watching for the aforementioned leaks. That way, you can stop us so we don’t dump several gallons of water onto your carpet. You can let us know if you see drips start to appear around the skylight.
We can then adjust our strategy to ensure we avoid the skylight altogether. Doing so will mean that the job takes more time and costs you more, which is why we don’t “always” use these tricks in the first place. We can’t account for information we don’t have, however, so be sure to take the day off if possible, and be our eyes inside your home. It’s certainly not mandatory, but better safe than sorry.
Finally, you need to make absolutely sure we know the skylight is present before we begin work on your home.
Skylights are a hazard, and they’re one we can’t easily see. They’re under the snow!
If we don’t know about them and have some idea of where they are it’s very easy to slip, fall, and injure ourselves. Our flailing bodies may also break your skylight, and that’s not going to be a fun repair to make.
Just make sure you fully disclose the nature of the hazard to us before we begin work, and we’ll both be happier.