Guttrz / Roof repair / Ice dam prevention
Ice dam prevention in Ohio for Stark, Summit and Medina county homes
The owner inspects the roof and the attic himself, you get a photo report the same day showing where the heat escapes, and the roof-side fixes come at one written price good for a year.
Ice dam prevention in Ohio means keeping the roof deck cold enough that snow stays snow, and protecting the eave for the days it does not. Guttrz, based in North Canton, inspects the roof and attic, sends a same-day photo report that names each cause, and fixes the roof side: balanced soffit and ridge ventilation and self-adhering ice and water shield at the eaves, as a repair or as part of a roof replacement. Air sealing and insulation are marked in the report for an insulation contractor. Guttrz does not install heat cables. One written price, fixed before any work starts and good for one year.
Ice dam prevention in Ohio comes down to one goal: keep the roof deck cold enough that the snow sitting on it stays snow. Guttrz offers it as a roof repair service across Stark, Summit and Medina counties from North Canton. The owner inspects your roof and attic himself, you get a same-day photo report that shows where the heat is getting out, and the fixes that belong on the roof, ventilation and ice and water shield, come with one written price that holds for a year. If you want to understand how a dam forms, read the ice dams on Ohio roofs post. This page is about getting yours fixed.
What causes the ice dams on your roof?
Every ice dam needs a roof deck above freezing and an eave below it. Akron-Canton Airport averages about 47 inches of snow a winter, and the thaw-and-refreeze cycle runs from November into March, so the snow and the cold eave are a given. Three things make the deck warm, or make a dam worse once it starts.
Heat loss from the house
Most of the heat comes up through gaps rather than through the ceiling itself: the attic hatch, recessed can lights, the chase around the chimney and the plumbing stack, the open tops of interior walls, and the holes drilled for wiring. A finished attic room or a cathedral ceiling with thin insulation warms the deck directly, which is why the dam so often sits below a dormer.
Ventilation that cannot flush the heat
Whatever heat does reach the attic has to leave. If the soffits are solid, the insulation is stuffed into the eaves, or there is no exhaust at the ridge, the heat stays, and the deck warms a few degrees above freezing even on a 20 F afternoon. That is all a dam needs.
Gutters full of leaves
A gutter packed with October oak and maple leaves holds a frozen block against the shingle edge all winter. It does not start the dam, but it gives the ice a shelf to build on and keeps meltwater from draining on thaw days. A late fall gutter cleaning is the cheapest part of prevention.
Which cause do you have?
You can narrow it down from the driveway on a snowy day. The pattern of melt on the roof tells you where the heat is.
| What you see | Likely cause | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Bare melted streaks or circles in the roof snow while the rest stays white | Heat leaking under those spots: can lights, the hatch, a duct | Air sealing, then insulation |
| Snow melts off your whole roof while the neighbor's holds | General heat loss plus poor ventilation | Insulation and balanced soffit and ridge venting |
| Dams only on a north or shaded eave | Normal melt reaching a very cold overhang; roof shape | Ice and water shield at that eave, raking the snow, ventilation |
| Dam above the bathroom or kitchen | Bath or range fan venting into the attic | Reroute the duct through a roof cap |
| Thick icicles on a gutter that is full of leaves | Debris holding water and ice | Gutter cleaning before the snow |
| Ceiling stain near an outside wall after a thaw | Water already getting under the shingles | Ice and water shield, check decking and fascia for rot |
What does ice and water shield do for ice dam prevention in Ohio?
It does not stop the ice. It stops the water. Ice and water shield is a self-adhering rubberized membrane that bonds to the roof deck under the shingles and seals itself around every nail. When a dam forms and meltwater pools behind it, the membrane keeps that water off the deck and out of the wall below.
The Residential Code of Ohio requires an ice barrier at the eaves in areas with a history of ice forming along the eaves, which covers Stark, Summit and Medina counties, running from the roof edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, measured horizontally. On a house with a 12-inch overhang and a 6/12 pitch, that works out to about 40 inches up the slope, so one 36-inch course is not enough and two go on. Older roofs often have none at all, or a strip of felt paper in its place.
As a repair, the bottom courses of shingles come off at the problem eave, the membrane goes on over the deck and over the drip edge, and new starter and shingles go back on. Because the shingles have to come up, it suits roofs with years left in them. On a roof that is nearly done, it is part of every Guttrz roof replacement at the eaves and valleys, so the repair is not paid for twice.
How do ventilation fixes stop ice dams?
A vented attic runs close to the outdoor temperature, so the snow on the deck sits the way it does on the garage roof. Intake at the soffits, exhaust at the ridge, and baffles that keep the insulation from plugging the eaves are the pieces. Guttrz installs all three, closes competing gable vents, and reroutes bath fans that dump into the attic. The roof ventilation page has the net free area math and the mixing rules.
Why is air sealing the step most people skip?
Insulation slows heat. It does not stop air, and air carries most of the heat into an attic. Air sealing is foam and caulk work from the attic side: foaming around the plumbing stack and wiring holes, caulking the top plates of the walls, boxing in can lights with fire-rated covers, and weatherstripping the hatch. It costs little and matters more than another layer of insulation. Guttrz does not do air sealing or insulation. The photo report marks each leak the owner finds so you or an insulation contractor can seal them.
Do gutter guards cause ice dams, and do they cure them?
Neither. The ice in your gutter is the bottom of a dam that began on the shingles above it, where meltwater from the warm deck met the cold overhang. Gutters without guards dam. Roofs with no gutters at all dam. Guttrz sells gutter guards and would be glad to tell you they end ice dams, but they do not. What they do is keep the gutter clear so meltwater drains on thaw days and the ice has no bed of leaves to build on. The gutter guards and ice dams post goes through the evidence.
Does Guttrz install heat cables?
No. Heat cable zigzagged along the eave melts channels through a dam that has already formed. It runs on electricity all winter, its clips go under the shingles, and it does nothing about why the dam formed. Guttrz would rather make the roof cold than melt the ice on it.
What does Guttrz do for ice dam prevention?
- Send your address by the form on this page or by text, and we text or call you within the hour.
- The owner inspects. He checks the eaves and the lowest shingle courses from a ladder, then the attic for frost, rusted nail tips, wet insulation, blocked soffits and fan ducts. In winter he reads the melt pattern in the roof snow.
- You get a photo report the same day, with each cause marked and sorted into roof-side work and attic-side work.
- One written price for the roof-side work, fixed before any work starts and good for a year. Ice dam work carries a job minimum.
- The work: ventilation, ice and water shield as a repair, or both folded into a roof replacement if the shingles are at the end. Photos after.
The free roof inspection includes the eaves and the attic on every visit, so if you are not sure the roof is the problem, start there. The ranches and split-levels described on the roofing in North Canton page, where a long low roof meets a solid soffit, are the houses most prone to it.
Book the roof-side fix before the first snow by requesting a roof repair quote for ice dam prevention, or text your address to (330) 818-5584 and we text or call you within the hour.
Questions
When is the best time to do ice dam prevention work?
Fall, before the snow. Ice and water shield needs a dry deck and shingles warm enough to lift without cracking, which usually means days above about 40 F. Ventilation and baffle work can happen in any dry weather. Winter is still a good time for the inspection, because the melt pattern in the snow shows exactly where the heat is leaving.
Can you fix an ice dam that is on my roof right now?
Guttrz does not chip or steam ice off roofs. If water is coming in, melt a drain channel with a calcium chloride-filled stocking laid across the dam, and pull snow off the first few feet of roof with a roof rake from the ground. Book the inspection now, and the ventilation or membrane work goes on the schedule for the first dry stretch.
Will ice and water shield alone stop my ice dams?
No. It keeps backed-up water out of the house, which is the damage you care about, but the ice still forms, still lifts the shingle edge and still soaks the fascia. A dam that climbs higher than the membrane reaches leaks anyway. Pair it with ventilation and attic air sealing so the dam stops forming.
How much insulation should an Ohio attic have?
Stark, Summit and Medina counties sit in climate zone 5, where current energy codes call for roughly R-49 to R-60 in a vented attic, which is on the order of 14 to 18 inches of blown fiberglass or cellulose. Many homes from the 1950s through the 1980s have 4 to 8 inches. Guttrz does not install insulation, but the photo report includes the depth found so an insulation contractor can quote from it.
Do you do ice dam prevention in Summit and Medina counties?
Yes. The service covers Stark, Summit and Medina counties, including Green, Hudson, Stow, Fairlawn, Copley, Wadsworth and Medina as well as Canton, North Canton, Jackson Township and Massillon. The inspection, same-day photo report and one written price are the same everywhere in the area.
Do I need a new roof if I have had ice dams?
Not usually. Ice dams are an attic problem first, and a roof with years left can be made right with ventilation, membrane at the eaves and air sealing. A roof that has leaked from dams for several winters may have soft decking at the eaves, lifted or cracked first courses and rotten fascia. The inspection rates the whole roof Good, Watch or Replace Soon, and the report tells you which case yours is.
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Written by Christian Schaffner, owner of Guttrz. Updated November 8, 2026.
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