Gutter Cap is a must for the bitter Michigan winters! Without the protection of Gutter Cap ice and snow will build up in gutters, causing the seams to split and break! In addition, the weight of heavy snow causes gutters to loosen while the back up of ice behind gutters causes moisture damage to fascia. On homes without the protection of gutters and Gutter Cap ice damage can be extensive and cause fascia to rot away.
Does Gutter Cap prevent ice-damming?
Gutter Cap will minimize ice-damming under the fascia or under the first row of shingles. This is because Gutter Cap is mounted over the first row of shingles and under the second row. Ice-damming under the second row of shingles is uncommon because there is insulation under that portion of the roof, and the melt-freeze cycle is less likely to occur in that spot. But you will see icicling sooner with Gutter Cap, as you would with any gutter protection system. Formerly, the ice had to fill the gutter first before spilling out over the gutters. However, considerably less damage will occur with ice on top of Gutter Cap than when it was in the gutter or worse, hanging off your fascia. Only Heater Cap will totally eliminate ice-damming in the gutter area.
Many homeowners believe that the addition of gutter protection to their home is the cause of icicle formation on their eves. The illustrations below tell the story of how ice forms, with and without, gutter protection.
Icicles form because of heat loss in the roof. Heat loss is caused by damaged or improperly installed insulation, improper ventilation and sometimes, bad architectural design.
How Icicles Form
No Gutter Protection |
With Gutter Protection |
When snow melts off the warm roof deck, it drains into the gutter and when the temperature drops, it refreezes out of sight, in the gutter. |
With gutter protection, ice will also form in the gutter, because the root cause of the melting snow is the same. Heat loss from the roof. |
As long as heat from the house is escaping through the roof, the ice will build up in the gutter,
unseen by the homeowner. |
It is the same with gutter protection.
As long as heat from the house is escaping through the roof, the ice will build up in the gutter,
unseen by the homeowner. |
Eventually, the gutter becomes full and overflows, forming small icicles. |
Some ice will start to form on the nose of the cover, if the temperature drops and the water freezes before it falls into the gutter. Icicles will appear sooner with gutter protection, but less weight of ice will form in the gutter. |
As winter continues, the icicles will grow in length, but also backing up onto the roof and under the roof shingles, creating a bigger water/ice problem.
When a warm spell arrives, the icicle may reduce in size, but usually does not fall off because it is "hooked" into the ice block in the gutter. |
The icicle may grow,
as long as it can cling to the cover. |
The larger the icicle grows, there is a good chance that the weight of the ice will pull the gutters away or off of the house completely.
This will damage the eave structure of the roof, and destroy whatever is below it where it lands, causing serious damage to property or people. |
When there is a warm spell, these smaller icicles will fall off before they are big enough to pull the gutter down from the house
This is because there is nothing for the ice to grab or hook onto with gutter protection.
Icicles may come and go several times during the course of the winter, as long as there is heat loss from the roof. |
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