JLC • NEW ENGLAND EDITION • MARCH 1995 I've seen a lot of ice dams in my 24 years in Vermont, both as a builder and as a home inspector. But in the winter of '94, there were far more problems with leaks from ice dams than ever before. According to several builders I've talked to, the same was true in other parts of the country. Many of the leaks were caused by severe ice dams on roofs that had never leaked before. What Causes Ice Dams? Ice dams form when heat loss causes the snow pack on the roof to melt. The water runs down the roof under the insulating layer of snow until
