Skaneateles, NY
Ice Dam Prevention, Eave Protection and Attic Ventilation in Skaneateles, NY
Skaneateles is unusual in having a form for precisely this kind of work.
Ice Dams and Ventilation in Skaneateles
Skaneateles is unusual in having a form for precisely this kind of work. The village Codes and Zoning office at 26 Fennell Street publishes a dedicated Roofing and Siding Permit and takes building and zoning permits electronically, so who to ask has a clear answer here, which is not true in most of the county. What follows the question is less simple. This is the oldest housing stock in the metro, 54.3 percent of it built in 1939 or earlier with a median construction year of 1938 or earlier, and section R905.1.2 applies its eave requirement to slate and wood shingles just as it does to asphalt, so a roof still carrying its original covering raises a real question about what can be done at the lowest edge without disturbing a field that is otherwise sound.
What to weigh before you book
Where the house is designated, add the calendar to the budget. The village Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission holds public hearings and votes on applications for a Certificate of Approval for exterior changes at designated properties, working alongside the village Deputy Zoning Inspector, so a change that is visible from the street, a ridge vent along a prominent roofline or a different material at the eave, can need that approval before work begins, and because the commission meets on a schedule the review adds weeks rather than days. Two things that do not apply are worth stating as well: the City of Syracuse watershed rules at 10 NYCRR 131.1 bite on land and shoreline disturbance and on erosion and stormwater plans, not on renewing a roof covering, though changing where a downspout discharges near the lake is a separate conversation.
Sourced local detail for Skaneateles
The Village of Skaneateles publishes a dedicated Roofing and Siding Permit form through its Codes and Zoning office at 26 Fennell Street, and building and zoning permits are submitted electronically.
Source: Village of Skaneateles Codes and Zoning, accessed 2026-09-02
In the Village of Skaneateles 54.3 percent of housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, the highest pre-1940 share of any place in Onondaga County, and the median year of construction is 1938 or earlier.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, accessed 2026-09-02
Section R905.1.2 of the 2020 Residential Code of New York State requires that, in areas designated in Table R301.2(1) as having a history of ice forming along the eaves and causing a backup of water, an ice barrier be installed for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate, wood shingles and wood shakes. The barrier must be either two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet, and it must extend from the lowest edge of the roof to a point not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. Detached accessory structures with no conditioned floor area are excepted.
Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, section R905.1.2, reproduced by UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-02
The Village of Skaneateles has a Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission that holds public hearings and votes on applications for a Certificate of Approval for exterior changes at designated properties, working alongside the village Deputy Zoning Inspector. Its published minutes record such applications being heard and decided.
Source: Village of Skaneateles Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission, accessed 2026-09-02
Skaneateles Lake is subject to the City of Syracuse watershed rules at 10 NYCRR 131.1, covering a 58.9 square mile watershed. Those rules bite on land and shoreline disturbance, requiring erosion and stormwater control plans and copies of permit applications to the water supplier for building activities that disturb land, and they prohibit land disturbing activities exposing 5,000 or more square feet of soil in environmentally sensitive areas.
Source: City of Syracuse Water Department, 10 NYCRR 131.1, accessed 2026-09-02
What Ice Dams and Ventilation involves
An ice dam is a heat problem that shows up as a water problem. Heat escaping into the attic warms the roof deck, snow melts on the upper slope, the meltwater runs down to the cold overhang beyond the heated walls and refreezes, and the ridge of ice that grows there holds standing water back under the covering until it finds a way in. Syracuse averages 123.8 inches of snow a year, an inch or more sits on the ground on around 60 days of a normal winter, and the temperature crosses freezing in both directions roughly 84 days a year. Those three numbers are the whole mechanism. The New York State Department of Health names ice dams and insufficient attic ventilation among the moisture sources that cause mold in homes, which is why this work is a mix of air sealing, ventilation, eave detailing and drainage rather than roofing alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
My roof is original slate. Can eave protection be added without stripping it?
That is exactly the question to put to a roofer who works on slate, because the answer depends on the condition of the slate and the detail at the lower edge rather than on a general rule. The code's requirement applies to slate as well as asphalt, but slate may not lawfully be covered over, so the choice is repair, replace in kind, or full removal, and it should be settled before any price is agreed.
Will the preservation commission be involved?
Only if the property is designated. Where it is, exterior changes go to the Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission for a Certificate of Approval and are heard at a scheduled public meeting, so the approval sits in front of the work rather than beside it. The village Codes and Zoning office at 26 Fennell Street can tell you which category the address falls into.
Ice Dams and Ventilation quote in Skaneateles
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