Ice and Water Shield is a barrier that some roofing contractors apply to help protect homes from ice and water damage. This underlayment is typically only applied to the first 3 feet from the roof edge. This barrier is very effective at preventing water and ice damage to the home during most winters, but with enough snow and cold temperatures ice dams can develop and the ice can gradually climb the roof and surpass this barrier. Ice can also find its way through the flashing and make a pathway for water to enter into the home. We received a call a couple of days ago from a homeowner who was perplexed because he had water pouring into his home even though he had the ice and water shield barrier on a newer addition to his home. He scheduled ice dam removal with our company after he had established a claim with his homeowners insurance. After we cleared some of the snow from his roof, we discovered that the ice had climbed over 5 feet from the roof edge surpassing the protective barrier. When we removed the ice dams and ice from his roof the leak stopped.
