Scranton Water Damage / Ice dams and ceiling leaks
Ice dams and ceiling leaks in Scranton
When a ceiling starts dripping along an outside wall in the middle of winter, the roof is usually not the problem. Snow melts on the warm part of the roof, refreezes at the cold edge, and backs water up under the shingles. In older Scranton houses, that water often lands on a plaster ceiling.
Why it happens here
The Avoca airport averages about 45 inches of snow a year, and January averages a low of about 20 degrees. That combination is what builds ice dams. A good snow sits on the roof for days. Heat leaking up from the house melts the bottom of it. The water runs down to the eaves, which hang out past the warm walls and stay cold, and freezes there. After a few days the ridge of ice is tall enough that the next melt pools behind it and works up under the shingles.
Older houses are the most likely to get them. About half of Scranton's homes were built before 1940, according to the Census Bureau's 2024 survey. Many were built with little or no attic insulation, and some have finished attic rooms with knee walls that are hard to insulate well. Both let heat reach the roof deck.
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Try the cost calculatorWhere you'll see the water
- A stain or drip on the ceiling within a few feet of an outside wall.
- Water running down the inside of an outside wall, around a window head, or behind trim.
- Peeling paint or a wet patch on the wall of a second floor bedroom under a low roof.
- Icicles that are thick at the gutter, with ice along the edge of the roof itself.
The water can travel along a rafter or a top plate before it shows, so the stain is not always right under the ice.
What to do about the ice
From the ground, a roof rake can pull the bottom few feet of snow off so less melt feeds the dam. Don't chip at the ice with a hatchet or a shovel. That tears up shingles and gutters, and an icy roof is a bad place to be holding a hatchet. Some roofers will steam the dam off safely. Long term, the fix is usually more insulation and better air sealing in the attic, so the roof deck stays cold. That is a job for an insulation contractor or a roofer.
Drying a wet plaster ceiling
Plaster on wood lath reacts differently from drywall. It holds water for a long time and can look solid while the keys that hold it to the lath are letting go. The crew checks for sagging and soft spots by hand, meters the plaster and the framing above it, and decides what can stay.
Plaster that is still tight to the lath can usually be dried in place, with the attic opened up above it if that is where the water is. Plaster that is bulging or loose has to come down. Insulation in the attic floor that got wet is often pulled, because it holds the water against the ceiling. Walls get opened low where the meter shows water ran down inside them.
Snowmelt on a roof is usually clean water, but it can pick up dirt and old insulation on the way down. If it sat for more than a couple of days, the crew checks the cavity for mold before closing anything up.
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Questions
Does homeowners insurance cover ice dam leaks?
Many policies cover the water damage inside the house from an ice dam. The roof repair and the cause are separate questions. Check your policy or ask your agent.
Can I put salt or calcium on the ice?
Rock salt can damage shingles, gutters, and plants. Calcium chloride made for roofs is safer, but it only opens a channel. It won't fix what caused the dam.
Will the plaster crack when it dries?
Hairline cracks are common after plaster dries. They can be patched. Sagging or loose plaster is a bigger problem and usually needs replacing.