If you've looked up at your roofline this winter and noticed icicles hanging from the eaves, you're probably spending more to heat your home than you need to — and you may end up needing roof repairs.

Icicles and ice dams are caused when water freezes along gutters or downspouts from a mixture of temperature fluctuation and heat escaping from your home, according to the National Weather Service. Heat rising through your ceiling and attic to the underside of the roof melts accumulated snow and ice, which then refreezes after the water runs away from the heat source — ultimately leaving snow and ice in your gutter that pours and drips over into icicles.

See Full Page