- After a large snow storm,
your roof could experience something called ice damming.
Ice damming could create leaks
all over your home,
underneath valleys
or around the perimeter at the eaves.
Today, we're gonna be talking
about an important way to combat ice damming
and that's ice and water shield.
(light music)
Hi, I'm Bill Ragan with Bill Reagan Roofing Company.
I've been in the construction industry for over 40 years
and started Bill Ragan Roofing Company over 30 years ago.
At Bill Ragan Roofing Company, we wanna ensure
that all of our homeowners are well-informed
before they make this large purchase.
So today we're gonna be talking
about one of the crucial roofing components
and that's ice and water shield.
We're gonna be talking about what it is,
how much it costs and is it possible to do any upgrades.
What is ice and water shield?
Ice and water shield is a self-adhering leak barrier.
It's basically a waterproof membrane
that's installed in valleys around roof penetrations
and also on roof pitches
between a 2/12 pitch and a 4/12 pitch.
And it's to ensure that if any water gets under
the shingles, it cannot get to the decking.
There's three different types of ice and water shield
and each one has their own specific application.
For valleys, we use a granular surface or a sand surface.
It's a rougher surface ice and water shield.
It's not as thick as the other ones,
but it still serves the same purpose.
There's a smooth ice and water shield.
That's the one that we use on the lower slope roof pitches
like the 2/12, 3/12, 4/12 pitch roofs.
And then there's a high heat ice and water shield
and that's what we use underneath metal roofs
or say slate roofs,
even the cedar shake roofs.
And what the high heat ice and water shield
was designed for, it has a cotton-type fiber
over the top of it that prevents metal from sticking to it,
so it can expand and contract
without destroying the integrity
of the ice and water shield.
What is the cost of ice and water shield?
The cost of ice and water shield
is gonna vary depending on what type you're using
and for what application.
It starts at $50 per roll,
which is a one square roll,
three feet by 33 feet
and that's for the type that we use in the valleys.
The high heat ice and water shield
is gonna be a little more expensive.
Installed, it's gonna run you around $125 per square.
So that's how much it's gonna add
or include in the cost of your cedar shake roof
or say your slate roof.
The smooth version is gonna run around $100 per square
installed to go under your low slope roof.
Can you upgrade your ice and water shield?
One of the upgrades for ice and water shield
is if you wanna run
two rows of it
around the perimeter of your house,
along the eaves and up the rakes
and that's to prevent ice damming,
that could cause damage in your home.
It's not that prevailing in the south.
We're below the snow line,
but everything above the Tennessee Kentucky line
and that latitude line,
it puts you above the snow line
and that upgrade is required by codes in that area.
It's not required by codes down in this part of the country,
but we have experienced ice dams before
and some customers just choose to do it
as an extra precaution.
If you wanna make sure your ice and water shield
is installed properly,
you're gonna wanna hire a good local roofing contractor.
Click on the link below in the description
and get our list of questions
to ask your roofing contractor.
And if you wanna learn more about roofing,
stay tuned for our next video
in our roofing academy library.
It's gonna be about starter shingles.
That's all for this video.
I hope you feel a lot more informed about roofing.
I'm Bill Ragan and remember,
if a customer of mine has a problem,
then I have a problem.