Environment & Climate Change

The do-it-yourself snow and ice test

Michigan Public | By Rebecca Williams

Published March 3, 2011 at 11:43 AM EST

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Matt Grocoff says icicles are pretty, but they are also a bad sign that your roof could be suffering water damage, drip by drip.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

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Washboard snow, or snow resembling ski moguls, is a sure sign of heat loss. This can be corrected by properly sealing and insulating the attic.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

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Matt says: Notice the circle on the back roof (right side). It is likely that they have a recessed can light that is not sealed in the attic.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

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Ice dams can cause damage to the rain gutters and possibly the roof.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

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An attic insulated and sealed with open cell spray foam. The snow is picture perfect and three days after a snow fall is experiencing virtually no melting.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

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The Grocoff home - with perfect snow cover. Matt says: you can see that it is well insulated by the lack of any snow melt, even around the chimney and vent pipe in the upper left.

Photo by Matt Grocoff

In the winter... there’s a quick and easy way to find out where your house is leaking energy... just by looking at your roof a day or two after a good snow. Greenovation.tv’s Matt Grocoff invited me along on what he calls a drive-by energy audit.

Here's what to look for:

Icicles are pretty... but they're a sign that your attic needs more insulation. Heat from your house is escaping and melting the snow.
If you have ice clogging your gutter, it can cause damage to the gutter... and ice can get underneath your roof shingles and damage your roof.
You can use a roof rake to clear snow from your roof... but it's just a short-term fix. A better solution is to check out the non-profit group Michigan Saves to find a qualified contractor, who can come out and perform an energy audit and find your home's leaks and advise you on how to fix them so you can save energy and money.