Gutter Guards and Omaha Ice Dams: The Honest Answer

No. No gutter cover prevents ice dams, and any company that promises otherwise is overselling. An ice dam is not created in your gutter, so a cover on the gutter cannot stop it from forming. We would rather tell you that up front than sell you a winter miracle that does not exist.

Ice dams come from heat, not from your gutters. Warm air escaping into your attic heats the roof deck and melts the underside of the snow. That meltwater runs down to the cold eave and the overhang, where there is no warm attic beneath it, and refreezes. Repeat that cycle over a few cold days and the ice builds into a ridge, a dam, that backs the next round of meltwater up under your shingles. The root causes are attic heat loss and ventilation, which is why insulation and air sealing are the real fixes.

They keep the gutter itself clear and draining. A gutter packed with wet leaves in November is a gutter full of ice in January, and that frozen, overloaded trough is what tears away from the fascia under the weight. By keeping the gutter empty and free-flowing going into winter, a solid hood like LeaFree® reduces ice buildup in the gutter and the damage that comes with it. That is a real benefit. It is just not the same thing as preventing an ice dam up on the roof.

The durable fixes are in the attic: better insulation to keep the roof deck cold, and proper ventilation so the roof stays an even temperature. Because our crews are roofers first, if you fight ice dams every winter we can look at attic insulation and ventilation while we are up there for your gutters. Keeping the gutters clear with a hood, and keeping the attic cold and sealed, work together.

The hood is .024-gauge aluminum screwed to the gutter lip and interlocked panel to panel, so it stays put through freeze-thaw swings rather than shifting like a loose screen. It keeps the gutter draining so ice has less to build on. For the full warranty picture, see our warranty page, and for more straight answers, our FAQs.