Homes that let heat escape more rapidly than others will keep ice on the overhangs but not over the living area.
Frost on roof.
The overhang porch and garage keep ice on them longer.
Ice and water protectors sometimes called ice and snow shields in cold climates are made with polymer modified bitumen.
When warm air from inside the house escapes traveling up through the bypasses the moisture condenses on the roof boards and rafters where the frost can form.
Is the absence of frost an indication of heat loss thru the roof via poor insulation.
Once in the attic it warms the air over the living space.
This leaves a border of frost on the outside edges of the living area.
If dams are a serious threat to your roof the problem is usually due to poor ventilation.
These dams can tear apart your home so limit them by keeping your roof clear of snow.
If you see icicles hanging from your roof you most likely have an ice dam.
An ice dam can damage both your roof and the inside of your home.
And here s the clincher.
An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of a roof under certain wintertime conditions.
That warm air makes contact with the roof deck and warms it up.
In other words the sequence might be as follows.
Ice dams happen when ice melts trickles down the roof then freezes again.
On my roof some areas will have frost and others not.
Warm shingles don t allow frost to form as readily as cold shingles.
However if nothing is different about your home compared to your neighbors you may have a problem.
Frost on roof it s that time of year when we occasionally have frost on our roof tops.
Now comes the ice or snow torrent and you are under insulated.
When the outside temperature rises again the frost thaws water collects and can leak into your house.
During winter conditions attic frost is a problem associated with attic bypasses.
2 the car roof cools radiatively.
If the morning sun directly hits your home and not your neighbors lack of frost may just be attributed to the sun s heat.
A lack of frost can indicate that heat is leaking out through your attic space onto the roof and melting the frost.
Weeee we now have leaks inside the warm wall the ice builds up on the overhang but melts over the heated areas and you have a back up of water that goes under the shingles.
Ice and water protector sometimes also referred to as ice and water shield is a waterproof roof underlayment membrane developed to protect vulnerable areas on a roof from ice and water damage.
Something i implied above but didn t say explicitly is that when frost forms on the roof the roof is below freezing.
1 initially the air and the car are at temperature 37 f and the dew point is 35.