Ice Dam Prevention & Repair
Ice dams are a roof problem caused by a heat problem: warm attic air melts snow, the melt refreezes at the cold eave, and the growing ice shelf pushes water backward under your shingles.
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Ice dam prevention starts with a truth: hacking ice off gutters treats the symptom. The fix stack is: air-seal the attic leaks feeding the melt, insulate to keep the deck cold, ventilate so the roof runs one temperature, and armor the eaves with membrane for whatever ice still forms. Heat cable is the tactical layer where geometry makes dams inevitable.
What the Repair Involves
- Attic assessment: bypasses, insulation depth, ventilation path
- Air-seal the big leaks (can lights, chases, hatches)
- Confirm intake-to-ridge ventilation actually flows
- Ice & water shield at eaves during any reroof or eave repair
- Heat cable, correctly zigzagged and switched, where the roofline demands it
What It Costs
Heat cable installations typically run $400–$1,200. Attic air-sealing and ventilation corrections are quoted from the assessment — often the cheapest line with the biggest effect. Every roof is different — the photo comes first, the real number before we start, and no invoice surprises after.
Materials We Use
GAF WeatherWatch and StormGuard eave membranes, Cobra ridge vents with matched intake, and commercial-grade self-regulating heat cable — not the box-store constant-watt kind. When NWS Jackson (weather.gov/jkl) posts a winter storm warning for the corridor, these details decide whether your eave grows an ice shelf.
North-facing cabin eaves in the Gorge hollows hold snow for weeks after town is clear. If your eave grows icicles like teeth every January, the attic above it is talking to you. We answer calls from Beattyville, Slade, Stanton, Campton, Irvine, Booneville, Jackson, and the whole Red River Gorge corridor. If a dam already pushed water inside, that damage is handled through our roof repair service.
Not sure this is your problem? Text a photo and find out free — no sales inspection, just a straight answer today.
Common Questions
Are icicles always a problem?
Small ones after a sunny melt day, no. Thick ones with interior stains or a visible ice shelf at the eave, yes — that’s water backing uphill under your roof.
Does heat cable damage shingles?
Properly clipped self-regulating cable, no. Constant-watt cable stapled tight by a handyman — that we replace regularly, sometimes along with the shingles it cooked.
Last updated: August 14, 2026