Icicles a problem at your home? Here's a solution

The icicles hanging from your roof might look pretty, but it can cause hundreds of dollars in damage.

William “Willy” Hoff and P. Lang Construction are already hard at work this winter taking a torch to the icy problem.

“We've had cold temperatures with a lot of snowfall and now we're seeing tremendous ice dam problems around the state,” said Patrick Lang, owner of P. Lang Construction.

On Monday, the crew melted away ice tearing down the gutters at Good News Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids.  Lang says it's the best way to stop ice from getting under the roof and into your home.  With more than20  years of experience, he says this is not a do-it-yourself kind of project.

“They're trying to remove ice in conventional forms of chopping it with a blunt object that damages the bottom edge and gutters,” said Lang.

Instead, he suggest checking for certain signs of trouble throughout the winter.  “Take your flashlight, if you can access your attics, shine them in the extremities of your buildings and look for frost look for ice and look for moisture trails.”

Lang says poor initial roof installation is the main reason why people have problems with ice dams year after year.  He says getting rid of the ice quickly is the key, because letting the problem linger can lead to bigger issues inside your home, like mold and mildew.

He says if you catch the problem early it's less costly, safe and simple for professionals like Willy to fix.