With the weather seeing a freeze-thaw cycle in the southeast, SGI is letting people to know to keep an eye out for ice dams forming around their homes.
An ice dam is when water freezes into ice on a part of a roof and builds up to the point of potentially causing damage by blocking the flow of water off of a roof.
SGI Spokesperson Jeremy Pilon talks about some of the ways people can make sure their homes are clear of ice dams.
"The greatest way to prevent that is to get the snow off of your roof. I know we're maybe even a little late for it for a lot of people, but it's a matter of getting on that roof and getting the snow off of it so that the sun can hit whatever ice might be there to melt it off."
"But also it just takes the insulation off of the roof so that the water either stays flowing the way it's supposed to or it just kind of evens up the temperature on the roof. So it's really about getting the snow off of your roof."
Snow is a pretty big issue when it comes to possibly causing damage to homes with Pilon saying the work's not done even if it's off the roof.
"Make sure that they're moving that snow away from the house as well. It's not just enough to take the snow down off of the roof because if you just set it down, you know, pile it up next to your foundation, then it's gonna melt down into your basement and cause issues there as well."
"So maybe once your roof is clear, you also need to make sure you're getting that snow away from your house. We recommend about two meters, six feet, social distance the snow from your house kind of thing, so that snow doesn't have a chance to get into your basement."
Working with an ice dam that's already established can be difficult, with Pilon offering some tips.
"You want to first of all, do what you can to mitigate the damage. So getting snow off of your roof, making sure you're protecting your property, so if you have things like TV and things against the wall, you're gonna get that off of the wall and away so that the water can't damage anything that might be up against the wall."
"Then you're going to want to call your insurance broker. Not every insurance policy has coverage for ice damming. Some do, some don't, and by the time you have a nice day, it might be too late for you to get any kind of coverage for it."
Pilon recommends people head to sgicanada.ca and look at their articles on ice dams for more information.