A 70-degree High Plains morning can plummet to 20 degrees by sunset in what we call a “Blue Norther.” Colder temperatures mean your home goes from comfortable temperatures to completely vulnerable to freezing overnight. Temperature fluctuations create frozen gutters with ice dams to wreak havoc on your roof, siding, and foundation.
Ice dams form in your gutters and act like huge wrecking balls swinging from your eaves. They pry gutters away from your home and carve channels for water to seep into your home. If your system has already pulled away or sustained damage, you may need professional gutter repair or a new gutter installation to restore your home’s protection.. Besides all the destruction that water can cause to your property, imagine a two-foot-long icicle cracking loose. That 20-pound hunk of ice aims straight for your head as you walk by.
Winterize your gutters before the next freeze, control your icicles all winter long, and know when to spot trouble before you have expensive repair costs. Follow this gutter freeze game plan to get all of the info you need to beat Amarillo’s harsh winter weather.
Understanding the Problem: Why Do Gutters Freeze?
Ok, before we move further, let’s get on the same page. Gutters cannot just wake up one cold winter morning and decide to be transformed into an ice sculpture (unless you are the Snow Queen fairy tale character, and your owner is the owner of your house!). Certain known culprits create the frosty disasters, and the most important part is recognizing who and what they are.
Number 1: The True Culprit Is Clogged Gutters (If You Have A Dirty Gutters Situation)
Believe it or not, a clogged gutter is the most common culprit of them all. A frozen gutter/ice dam combination wreaks havoc for your roof, siding, and foundation. It takes your gutters hostage with the help of one or two good pullings, tears holes in your property, making the way for water infiltration, and/or drops the 20-pound ice chunks on someone’s head. Winterizing gutters, using safe ice management, and early problem identification help prevent expensive and frustrating repair bills down the road. This blog gives you essential knowledge and information needed to winterize a house for harsh months.
Number 2: The Attic is the Silent Culprit
Temperatures outside are not 32° Farenheit or below. This does not mean that your attic isn’t the root of your frozen gutter problem (if your attic is not properly insulated). An improperly insulated attic allows the hot air in the attic to escape, which melts snow that is sitting on the roof even when it’s below zero outside. The melted snow then makes its way down into the cold gutters, essentially making your roof an ice dam producing machine.
Throw in poor attic ventilation (which also prevents the attic from heating up in the winter and cutting off air that helps the melt-refreeze process) and you’ve got a house that can’t breathe, and therefore, runs like a 24/7 ice dam-producing assembly line.
The Result: A Recipe for Disaster
So what exactly happens when your gutters freeze? Let’s find out:
- Ice dams: This build-up of ice along the edge of the roof are not just an eyesore. They act as a dam, preventing water from escaping your roof and causing it to pool behind your shingles.
- Sagging gutters: Ice is heavy. Did you know that one cubic foot of ice weighs approximately 57 pounds? Consider that you have several cubic feet of ice weighing down your gutter system, and that is a lot of extra weight your gutters were not designed to hold.
- Water Damage: Water needs a place to go. If it can’t get through your gutters, it will find its own way through your soffit, behind your siding, and into your walls. Often the damage from ice dams and overflowing gutters is not seen until springtime when you are stuck with mold, rot, and upset contractors.
How Ice Forms on Gutters (And Why We Have Such Bad Ice Dams in Amarillo)
Ice dams are literally a continuous snow-melting and refreezing cycle that starts with weak afternoon sun hitting your roof. From there two things happen that contribute to gutter freezing. One is melted snow running off of your roof. The second part of this equation is heat escaping from inside your home. One of the reasons why this cycle occurs quicker here in Amarillo is because of elevation and how bright the sun is here. The high plains sun is strong even when air temperatures are freezing, melting snow on any surface that it shines upon. Unfortunately for your gutters they tend to stay in the shade, and due to being made from aluminum are great conductors of cold and freeze quickly. Coupled with frozen gutter damage caused by Amarillo’s harsh Panhandle winds you are left with a nightmare.
Once the wind and sun do their job you are left with gutters full of ice. Water freezes and turns into ice while aluminum continues to draw out the cold temperatures around it. The ice acts as insulation for your gutter causing it to stay cold longer allowing the cycle to repeat over and over freezing your gutters solid. Eventually your ice chunks fall off and spill out onto the cold trough refill and the whole process starts over again.
Do Gutters Cause Ice Dams?
Gutters are not the cause of ice dams but they can certainly aggravate the problem. The ice dam is being formed by a loss of heat and the gutters are a nice place to build bigger and be more destructive. Gutters will become the foundation of ice dams to build upon, so large ridges are formed of even more water in the process. Gutters are more of an enabler to the situation and will add to the problem in terms of poor maintenance and/or improper installation.
Will Removing Gutters Stop Ice Dams?
Eliminating gutters in the attempt to eliminate ice dams is equivalent to removing the brakes from a car to prevent them from wearing out. It’s a misdirected effort at a solution that will only create additional problems. Gutters are not the cause of ice dams, heat loss is. Ice dams will still occur if gutters are removed. But now you have other problems to contend with:
- Roof runoff creating puddles of ice on your sidewalks (pending lawsuit)
- Foundation damage caused by a concentrated volume of water running off the roof
- Basement flooding during the spring thaw
- Extreme erosion of landscaping (“war zone” quality yard)
- Damage to siding from constant exposure to water
8 Winter Gutters Problems Unique to Amarillo (& How to Fix Them)
A healthy gutter system can turn into trouble zones overnight once freezing temperatures arrive. And since we experience nearly every Mother Nature can throw at us here in Amarillo, you need to know how to handle these 8 gutter enemies of winter.
#1 Ice Dams
Melting snow slides off of your roof during the day when the sun is bright, only to refreeze at night when temps drop below freezing.
- Damage: Moisture backs up under shingles and causes attic rot and stained ceilings.
- Cost: $5,000 to $15,000 to repair structural and drywall damage.
- Fix: Preventative hanging heat cables ($20/foot) across your roofline in zigzag paths so thawing water always has an escape route.
- Bonus: Boost attic insulation to R-49 or higher to keep your roof surface cooler.
#2 Gutters Full of Debris
Did you know Amarillo is windy enough to kick small dust particles and prairie debris right up into your gutters? Then they freeze solid into cement-like masses.
- Danger: When gutters freeze you are usually stuck waiting for spring to melt these out.
- Solution: Clean out your gutters in late fall and install micro-mesh gutter guards ($8-$12/foot) to keep windblown debris out.
- Expert Tip: Use hot water and a telescoping wand to flush debris out of your gutters on winter days above 35°F.
#3 Leaky Gutters
Metal expands and contracts rapidly during temperature swings. You’ll see this happening overnight when your gutter seams separate by as much as 9%!
- Symptoms: Ice will form vertical streaks on the outside of your gutter. This means water is leaking inside!
- The Fix: Apply quality gutter sealant to all seams for around $8 a tube this fall.
- Lasting Solution: Install gutter brackets at every joint to allow for expansion while adding support.
#4 Half-Frozen Ice Bags
Fancy ice sculpture hanging from your gutters? Nope, just 20 feet of gutter filled with over 100 pounds of solid ice.
- Nightmare: Ice will pull gutters – and even the entire fascia board – away from your home.
- Cost: $2,000 to $5,000 to repair gutters and fascia.
- Fix: Install gutters with the proper slope of 1/2 inch downward every 10 feet toward the downspout.
#5 Sagging Gutters
Fresh snow weighs 20 pounds per cubic foot. Solid ice? Double that at 60 pounds per cubic foot.
- Test: Can someone standing across the street see your gutters sagging? If so, it’s too late.
- Fix: Install additional brackets every 18 to 24 inches instead of the standard 32 inches to prevent sagging.
- Upgrade: Replace stock gutter hangers with heavy-duty, snow-load-rated hidden hangers.
#6 Snow Falls
Snow guards ($5-$8/foot) break up slides, preventing hundreds of pounds of ice from crashing to the ground at once.
- Liability: If someone slips on ice on your property you could be sued for thousands in medical bills.
- Solution: Install snow guards to prevent large icicles and roof snow slides.
- Safety Tip: Break off small icicles with a telescoping pole before they become 50-pound monsters.
#7 Rust and Corrosion
Ice melts may be convenient, but they eat away at steel gutters and make aluminum oxidize faster.
- Old Before Their Time: Gutter-life can be cut down by an entire 5 years by harsh winters.
- Solution: Choose magnesium chloride–based ice melt and skip rock salt, which causes rust and stains.
- Prevention: Clean your gutters and apply rust-preventative primer and paint before winter hits.
#8 Winter Attic Condensation
Gutters that aren’t draining properly can create a vicious cycle: Moisture equals wet insulation, which equals heat loss and even more ice dams!
- Signs You Have the Problem: Frosty roofing nails or wet insulation along your eaves.
- Fix: Cover the warm side of your insulation with 6-mil plastic sheeting to act as a vapor barrier.
- Further Prevention: Air-seal penetrations between your living area and attic to keep heat in where it belongs.
Wrap Up
Winterizing your gutters is just one critical step towards home maintenance during winter season. Being proactive is your best defense to avoid large weekend projects due to winter damage. Consider each month you inspect your gutters as an added security blanket. However, if anything looks out of place please do not hesitate to call a professional. Finally, don’t be afraid to leave comments about your winter gutter horror stories below, we can help you find the solution. Also like maintaining your teeth, gutter care isn’t fun but it can save you time and money down the road. Take small steps towards improving your winter gutter care and keep your home safe from wintertime destruction.
Need help staying ahead of winter gutter problems? Schedule your free estimate with New Vision Exterior Solutions and let us protect your home from harsh winter conditions. We’ll keep your gutters flowing all season long.