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Little Melt = Big Trouble
02/19/2010 |
Marilyn Ravel Zukowski was preparing to bake a cake on Valentine's Day when her husband walked into the two-story solarium at the back of their house in Exeter Township.
"We have a problem, Marilyn," Chuck Zukowski called out to his wife.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"We have a problem," he repeated as she stepped into the sun-soaked room with walls and ceiling of glass.
Melting snow was leaking inside the house, soaking both drywall and carpeting.
It was a mess.
On Tuesday, as a restoration technician monitored cleanup efforts, Marilyn Zukowski reflected, "One minute you're all OK, and then bam, you aren't."
But the Zukowskis will be OK again when everything is restored, said Dan J. Kelly, a technician from Berks Fire Water Restorations Inc., Reading.
If the carpet can be saved, it will be, Kelly said.
What can't be saved will be replaced, he said.
"It will be just the way it was," Kelly reassured her.
"That does make me feel better," Marilyn said.
The Zukowskis are one of hundreds of families across Berks County dealing with roof and interior damage from the two recent storms that dropped a total of more than 3 feet of snow in most areas.
Homeowners are clamoring for help from roofers, damage restoration specialists and other contractors.
Most of the damage is due to ice damming, said Jame Burrus, production manager at Berks Fire Water.
More rarely, there have been drywall cracks or roof collapses under the weight of snow, he said.
Berks Fire Water Restorations has been cleaning up at the Zukowskis' since Sunday.
"We're mopping up and drying out," Burrus said.
The company clears roofs and gutters of ice and snow, sets up fans and dehumidifiers to dry inside homes and removes soaked building material, such as drywall and ceiling tiles.
Recipe for trouble
An ice dam forms when melted snow freezes at the colder edge of a roof, often at a rain gutter.
Water becomes trapped on the roof behind the dam where the roof is warmer because of heat from the house.
"The water builds up and works its way back up under the shingles and into the house," Burrus said. "Typically, it's within 1, 2 or 3 feet of the outside wall."
The leak is usually seen as a dripping wet spot on a ceiling, not as a gush of water.
"You see it more in older homes because of how codes have changed," Burrus said. "Newer homes are insulated well and have less heat loss."
The attics of properly insulated homes should be close to the same temperature as outside the home, Burrus said.
If not, heat is leaking from the home and likely melting snow on the roof, he said.
"If the temperature outside is 32 degrees and the attic is 40, you have serious heat loss," he said. "Even 35 or 36 is a huge difference from 31 outside."
The damage is striking all types of roofs, whether they're old or new, flat or pitched, said Scott Dugan, owner of Reading Roofing Co. on Kutztown Road.
"No matter what type you have, if the snow is deep enough and enough ice builds up, you'll have problems," he said. "It's happening everywhere."
Busy season
Dugan has received several hundred calls since Friday. Most are coming from homeowners whose roofs are leaking, and the rest from those concerned about blocked rain gutters or the potential for a roof collapse, he said.
It's the most snowstorm-related calls he's had since the record snowfalls in 1996, and he's handling about 10 jobs a day. He'd like to do more but can only go so fast.
"We're trying to take the worst ones first, which are those where water is leaking into the home," he said.
If he can't get to a home, he recommends the owner keep calling around until finding someone who is available.
Fortunately, most homeowners are finding their insurance covers damage caused by snow-related roof leaks, he said. The actual service calls, which cost about $150, are typically not covered.
According to a five-year national study, the typical insurance claim for this type of damage is about $5,500, Burrus said.
What is covered varies among insurance companies, but most will pay only to clear an ice dam and won't pay for snow removal from the entire roof, he said.
But the most important action homeowners can take is to get someone to clear their roofs of snow, Burrus said.
"If you get the edge cleared and not the rest of the roof, the snow will melt and hit the cool edge and build up an ice dam again," he said.
Homeowners should not take on the dangerous task themselves, he said.
"You can't just go up there with a snowblower," Burrus said. "Even with a snow rake, you could crack or break shingles.
"It's a tricky situation. I would never encourage anybody to go up there themselves and do it. It's too easy to slip and fall. A simple 10-foot fall can kill you."
When the weather warms and the snow melts more rapidly, the number of homes sustaining damage from ice dams will increase, said Randy Straub, owner of Straub Roofing & Concrete in Bern Township.
"When we get more sun and it warms up to 38 or 40 degrees, things are going to get worse," he said.
He advised homeowners to clear their roofs and gutters of snow and ice quickly.
"A little maintenance now could save you one heck of a mess," he said. |
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