Restoration company busy as ice dams cause leaks in homes

CTV’s Colton Wiens learns what homeowners need to do if they find a leak in their home.

A home restoration company is dealing with hundreds of significant leaks in homes.

According to Woodhouse Group, typically this time of year is quiet for them, but since Valentine’s Day they’ve received nearly 300 calls for service. Most of the calls are related to ice damming.

“This year our crews have been working around the clock to ensure that we are getting on top of these claims,” Adam Springer, a Field Coordinator for Woodhouse Group said.

Woodhouse Group responded to a leaking roof at a townhome in Waterloo on Thursday. Springer said it was the result of large amount of snow and ice staying on the roof, which directs any water in a different path then the engineered roof. The eavestroughs and gutters were also frozen, so any water on the roof had nowhere else to go but inside the home.

“So immediately we did see some discoloration, some staining on the drywall, textured ceiling,” Springer said. “[We] completed tear out of the ceiling and removed that wet insulation and vapor barrier and installed some equipment.”

While Woodhouse does its best to corner off the place its working in and keep the home in order, where the leak is happening can significantly impact how long it takes to fix.

“If we can dry in place, that’s what we will opt to do. With exterior walls and roofs, insulation becomes a big, big risk because the longer that sits, more moisture it collects, secondary damages can occur, and then the ‘m’ word: mold,” Springer said.

Homeowners can double check around their house for any significant accumulation after a snowfall. Woodhouse said homeowners using a personal scraper to remove snow should be extra careful, as it can be dangerous and easily damage shingles or even eavestroughs. Contacting a professional is always the safest step to take.

“If there is [a potential leak] and you are worried about that, just ensure that you do contact a roofer, if you want to get ahead of it and be preventative. There are other ways too, like installing heating coils around the eavestroughs and around the roofs,” Springer said.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said most policies cover sudden and accidental occurrences and would pay for the restoration work following a leak caused by ice damming. However, if something needs to be renovated to avoid future ice build up, that’s on the homeowner.

“Ice dams are covered under most insurance policies, but not if it happens every year and your roof is getting damaged every year,” Ann Marie Thomas, Director of Consumer and Industry Relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada said. “If this happened to you every year, there is an underlying situation that is causing the ice to dam that needs to be dealt with. An insurance company and the policy wordings would consider that a maintenance issue versus an isolated incident.”

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said often homeowners are not sure about what is covered by their insurance policy. IBC has extra information on ice damming and general insurance questions on its website.

Springer said with the potential for more snow in the forecast and rain and melting snow around homes, it’s also good for homeowners to check for leaks in their basements periodically.

“If you don’t commonly or often go in your basement, I would just make it a habit in the next couple of weeks with the melting snow and the rain coming, just to go in your basement and check to see if any of your exterior walls Have water damage or signs of water damage,” Springer said.

No matter the season, being proactive is the best way to protect your home.

“Stay diligent. Try and get ahead of it, because it’s so much easier to get ahead of it, as opposed to us having to come in tear out drywall, do kind of the invasive route. So just get ahead of it, do what you can,” Springer said.