Thawing Ice Leads To Roof Damage

Here in Tulsa it's not sleet or snow that's causing problems, but water.<br/> <br/>News on 6 anchor Tami Marler says that's keeping one area business especially busy.<br/><br/>"It can't

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 4:43 pm

By: News On 6

Here in Tulsa it's not sleet or snow that's causing problems, but water.

News on 6 anchor Tami Marler says that's keeping one area business especially busy.

"It can't all thaw at once during the day, then it refreezes at night and it's too thick to thaw out in a day," said Fred Narvaes with Burggraf Restoration.

Under different circumstances the sound of raindrops might be welcome here in Tulsa, but not when there's a thick layer of ice weighing-down your roof.

Even the cleanest, clearest gutters are little defense.

"The gutters don't help in this situation because the water's not flowing into them, it's flowing behind the ice dam and that's what causes the water to penetrate the structure," Narvaes said.

Fred Narvaes says with this storm alone Burggraf Restoration has received more than 200 calls from homes and businesses like this West Tulsa Church of Christ.

"Course ice damming is one of the things that this ice creates when there's thaws and then refreezing and it backs the water up into the shingles and it goes into the structure," he said. "You'll first notice some drips coming down the walls usually, the walls closest to the outside walls."

Narvaes also says the ceiling will show telltale signs of roof leaks.

Burggraf crews started this project shortly after the first snowstorm hit in late November. Their industrial fans and de-humidifiers just about had the ceilings and walls dried out when this storm hit, and the cold temperatures stayed.

"Now that it's thawing out is when the calls start coming in, and if it doesn't start melting off the roof soon we'll continue getting calls like that," Narvaes said.

Narvaes says the danger of moisture in your ceiling and walls is mold, which can cause serious health problems with those who are allergic.

Don't try to get up on your roof yourself to knock off the ice, call in an experienced roofer instead.