Ice Dam Leaks in East Syracuse: A Short Answer for an Older Eave

An ice dam forms where meltwater from the warm part of the roof runs down to the cold overhang and refreezes. Syracuse roofs cross the freezing point on about 84 days a year, and March is the worst month, with roughly 18 crossings. That airport record is Syracuse's, not the village's, so read it as the regional cycle.

More than half the homes here predate 1940. Houses that old have often been reroofed several times, and the ice barrier the code now asks for at the eave may not be there. You cannot tell from the ground. That is a proxy for your roof, not a fact about it, and it is the thing to ask the roofer to check.

The county hazard plan's East Syracuse section singles out no roof problem for ice, so there is no local rule to lean on.

A dam on your house is most likely the regional cycle meeting your particular eave, and the repair is judged on your eave. Ask what is at the edge: whether the barrier is under the shingles, whether the drip edge is there, and what the dam did to the deck and the ceiling below it.

The code asks for an ice barrier from the lowest edge of the roof to at least 24 inches inside the wall line. That applies where ice has formed along eaves before. It also asks for a drip edge on shingle roofs. A good estimate names both, plus any deck boards the dam damaged. Ask for a repair price beside a replacement price.

If your ceiling stains only in a thaw, the field of the roof may be fine. The cause of the ice starts inside the house with heat escaping, and the order of work for that is air sealing, insulation and venting. That is a separate job. This page is the eave: what the dam did and what keeps the water out next March.