Guides

• Why the Snowiest Towns Are Not the Worst for Ice Dams — Annual snowfall is a weak guide to ice dams. How long snow lies on a cold roof is what decides it, measured across US cities.
• Air Sealing or Heat Cable: Which One Fixes Ice Dams Where You Live — Attic air sealing removes the cause of most ice dams. Heat cable only manages them. How many US cities still need cable after sealing, and what it costs to run.
• Which Month Ice Dams Form, City by City — January is the peak ice-dam month in most US cities, but not all. How the season runs, and why late-winter dams leak the most.
• When a Roof Rake Is Worth It for Ice Dams — Raking the bottom of the roof removes the snow a dam is built from. Which US cities get enough snow for it to matter, and how to do it safely.