Hi, am looking for suggestions to my problem.
My house is a typical New England cape with a steep roof incline (about 45°). I had a new roof installed 5 years ago. It was not laid down over the old roof, it was stripped off completely first. During last couple winters, I had issues with water seepage through the roof about 1 foot up from the eaves. This only happens on the north side of the house (no sun) and happens after 3-4 inches or more of snowfall, and doesnt begin until a day or so later. I understand the problems of ice dams, but this seems to happen even before it freezes, or at least freezes solidly.
I started using a snow roof rake after each storm last year which has helped. The rake was only long enough to reach halfway up my roof, but since the water leakage was only within a foot from the eaves, it was good enough to prevent the problem. However, after the big blizzard that dumped over 24" on us last year, removing the snow that far up wasnt good enough as water start leaking through the roof at that half way up mark. In other words, right at the level of the snow build up that the roof rake could not reach. This was the only time it ever leaked that high up.
Could there be anything wrong with the roof installation to cause this problem? I had one person tell me that there should have been a membrane layer put down (there may have been, I dont know), and they either didnt install it properly, or at all. But I also read online that a membrane layer is usually only used on flat roofs where standing water exists.
Would de-icing cables help my problem? My concern about a de-icing cable though are: If I used one and it didnt sufficiently work, I could have difficulty using the roof rake again. It might damage the shingles the de-icing cable clips were attached to.
I wanted to call the roofing company that did this job but I dont think they are in business anymore. Not sure how to proceed on this.
My house is a typical New England cape with a steep roof incline (about 45°). I had a new roof installed 5 years ago. It was not laid down over the old roof, it was stripped off completely first. During last couple winters, I had issues with water seepage through the roof about 1 foot up from the eaves. This only happens on the north side of the house (no sun) and happens after 3-4 inches or more of snowfall, and doesnt begin until a day or so later. I understand the problems of ice dams, but this seems to happen even before it freezes, or at least freezes solidly.
I started using a snow roof rake after each storm last year which has helped. The rake was only long enough to reach halfway up my roof, but since the water leakage was only within a foot from the eaves, it was good enough to prevent the problem. However, after the big blizzard that dumped over 24" on us last year, removing the snow that far up wasnt good enough as water start leaking through the roof at that half way up mark. In other words, right at the level of the snow build up that the roof rake could not reach. This was the only time it ever leaked that high up.
Could there be anything wrong with the roof installation to cause this problem? I had one person tell me that there should have been a membrane layer put down (there may have been, I dont know), and they either didnt install it properly, or at all. But I also read online that a membrane layer is usually only used on flat roofs where standing water exists.
Would de-icing cables help my problem? My concern about a de-icing cable though are: If I used one and it didnt sufficiently work, I could have difficulty using the roof rake again. It might damage the shingles the de-icing cable clips were attached to.
I wanted to call the roofing company that did this job but I dont think they are in business anymore. Not sure how to proceed on this.
