Ice Dams Explained: How Snow & Gutters Cause Roof Leaks and Foundation Damage

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Show Summary

In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast, Aleks Krylov from Stern Gutters discusses the importance of a systemic approach to roofing and gutter services, particularly in New Jersey’s challenging weather. He explains how snow and ice impact roofs, the benefits of innovative solutions like heating systems for gutters, and why roof resilience should be considered when buying a home. The conversation also covers the evolution of roofing materials, financing options for repairs, and the need for homeowners to think holistically about exterior property management.

Resources and Links from this show:

• • • Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind
    • Investor Machine Real Estate Lead Generation
    • Mike on Facebook
    • Mike on Instagram
    • Mike on LinkedIn
    • Stern Gutters’ Website1
    • Stern Roofing’s Website2
    • Aleks Krylov’s Phone no.: 973-298-0767
    • Aleks Krylov’s Email Address: [email protected]

  Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode

  Investor Fuel Show Transcript:

  Aleks Krylov (00:00)
  And the same is true with the roofs. If the water is standing there, the moisture is there, you’re going to continue to potentially get moisture exposure to the fascia boards, to the rafters, to the beams. And this is a structural element of the roofs that is not very easy to…

  repair. It’s like in order to properly repair, literally have to take the entire roof off. And this is an exercise that you don’t want to do every 20, 25 years. you are much better off when it comes down to managing the rainwater, do the preventative efforts as opposed to be reactive and dealing with the damage through the repairs or the replacement.

  Dylan Silver (00:21)
  Yeah.

  Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest, Aleks Krylov with Stern Gutters out of South Orange, New Jersey. They do roofing, gutter design and installation, roof and gutter inspections, heating systems, and much more. Thank you for joining us today, Aleks.

  Aleks Krylov (02:30)
  Thanks, Dylan. Great to be here on the show.

  Dylan Silver (02:32)
  Now, when we talk specifically about the roofing space, gutter design, right? These are spaces that I would think you would see a lot of meshing and lot of overlapping, but I’ve been surprised, and we were talking about this before the show, just because people are involved in one segment of the space doesn’t automatically mean they do ⁓ gutter design or roofing, right?

  Aleks Krylov (02:56)
  We do see a lot of, you know, clear differentiation. Roofers do the roofs and, you know, and better professionals do the gutters. And we found that there is a value add to the homeowners or the small commercial property owners when we bring systemic thinking to both installing as well as servicing roofing and gutters. And while we started as a

  gutter-centric company doing installations and ⁓ maintenance on the gutters. We evolved over the last year or so into a more systemic exterior company and we do roofing and siding work as well. And this systemic approach has allowed us to ⁓ bring more comprehensive ⁓ rainwater or snow protection to the property owners.

  Dylan Silver (03:50)
  Now, are you focused on the residential space versus the commercial or are you at this point focused more on commercial?

  Aleks Krylov (03:58)
  The vast majority of our clients come from the residential space. However, we do receive phone calls from commercial ⁓ property owners who do not say no. And we’d like to grow into the commercial space as well.

  Dylan Silver (04:14)
  Now, when we talk specifically about residential ⁓ roofs in New Jersey, I’m licensed in Texas. I grew up in New Jersey, as I mentioned to you before hopping on here. But I mean, I’m imagining there’s specific issues that you see that may be New Jersey specific. Things like, know, ⁓ due to the snow, for instance, and I know you got a lot of snow here recently from what I’ve been told, you know, that could have a damaging effect on roof and gutter systems.

  Aleks Krylov (05:32)
  Absolutely, this past winter has been very, challenging. know, lots of cold temperatures and large amount of snow that was sitting on on properties roofs. Many roofs in New Jersey are not designed to handle the snow on a permanent basis. And as a result, due to a lack of airflow in the attic, improper insulation or

  just sheer design of the roof of the gutter systems, they end up capturing a lot of the snow. And ⁓ when the snow goes into the cycle of snow and then refreezing, it creates a so-called ice dams. And because the roofs are not necessarily designed to hold this amount of moisture in a more or less permanent state, this creates leakages. And the homeowners have been calling us quite a bit.

  ⁓ with requests to remove those ice dams to sort of stop the leaks of the tracks. So ⁓ this is one of the elements that we are discovering New Jersey is probably should be thinking more about. ⁓ And when we’re approaching the installation of the roofs that we do, we very much pay a lot of attention to how to protect the home from any, from any.

  any risk associated with an ice dam. extra ice and water protection, way we lay out shingles, the way we out the drip edge and how we connect the gutters. We try to minimize any potential downside related to the ice dam’s forming.

  Dylan Silver (07:16)
  Now, I’ve also heard and I saw on the website heating systems. I wasn’t aware that there were heating systems. is this something where, you know, if people have dealt with issues on their roof and in their gutter that they could install a heating system which would, you know, melt the ice so that it doesn’t pile up in their gutters?

  Aleks Krylov (07:37)
  So indeed, and ironically, some states in the United States actually have a lot of experience with gutter heating systems. And we are working very closely with a manufacturer out of Minnesota. ⁓ But yes, we do install the gutter heating systems and there are a variety of them on the marketplace, probably the most common ones and available off the shelf in the large box retailers. So just the sort of tapes that you have, you’ve seen running along the edge of the roofs. ⁓ They’re okay.

  They do some work, but to be truly effective, we actually have been talking to the homeowners and installing the heated plates along the first couple of rows of shingles, implementing the heated tape within the gutters and the downspouts. So you literally have the systemic thinking, not just the last row of shingles over the roof, but also the gutter system. You want the entire thing to be literally flowing when the temperatures are below freezing.

  So this is the systems that we’ve been pricing for many homeowners here in New Jersey.

  Dylan Silver (08:38)
  Now for folks who are looking at buying and selling property, how much should they be looking at the resilience of the roof to this type of inclement weather? Because I think most of the time people aren’t home shopping in the winter, right? Although they may be, I don’t know. But if you are home shopping in the summer,

  Right? You might not be thinking about, how’s this roof going to hold up in the snow? That might not be your first thought. But if you have a situation where the roof is maybe looks good on the outside, but may not be capable of handling long-term snow, could that potentially become a progressively more serious issue to where it may look good on the outside, but now you’re facing more serious issues down the line?

  you know, even within a year or two.

  Aleks Krylov (09:34)
  Absolutely. And so I would like to invite all the real estate professionals to remind current and the future homeowners that when they acquire the property, they’re to have to leave their boat during the summer and the winter. And the climate, you know, has been evolving in New Jersey. are getting ⁓ significantly more extreme weather events. It’s, you know, more ⁓ aggressive thunderstorms, you know, obviously somewhat extreme.

  weather events in the winter as well with a large amount of snow coming down. So the roofs should be able to handle all of that. you know, and if it’s as an older roof, sometimes it just simply, the design was not there or it was built or designed with the weather patterns that was present in Jersey 20, 25 years ago. So.

  Again, remind my invitation to real estate professionals, remind homeowners, it’s a 12 month a year type of deal when you own a home. give us a call. We’re happy to come out and conduct inspection and just share some of the opinions. There are possibly some quick ways we prepare is that we can do to prepare the homes for ⁓ extreme weather events, whether it’s in the winter or the summer.

  Dylan Silver (10:37)
  Yeah.

  Aleks Krylov (11:30)
  We’ve been very proactive in advocating to install larger size gutters on the properties. the marketplace has been positive in responding to the shift in the technology associated with the gutters. So yeah, and to the extent that we can be helpful to the rest of professional homeowners.

  and we can come out and share our opinion where the home can be quickly adopted to this sort of, to the new weather patterns to be happy to do so. Before the show, we talked a little bit about how we conduct the gutter inspections, roofing inspections. For us, we’re doing this kind of on a daily basis and we have the checklist through which we normally run through.

  And we’re happy to share the visual picture reports as well as the analytics, some of the thoughts and observations that we’re happy to share with the real estate professionals or the homeowners, and they can take it from there, whether they choose to act on it or not.

  Dylan Silver (12:35)
  I have a basic question and this just came to me as you were speaking just now. If you don’t have a good gutter system in place, could this potentially impact your foundation or the roof to where, and when you have snow, right, it’s hard form but then it’s gonna melt at some point. Do you see this ever becoming a greater issue with either the roof or the foundation just due to water being up against the home?

  Aleks Krylov (12:37)
  Please.

  Absolutely. So let’s start with the foundation, right? If ⁓ the water is not being taken far away from the basement, ⁓ you are running the risk that the water may end up inside of the house. Many New Jersey homes have sump pumps installed as a default way of managing the moisture inside the basement. ⁓ But obviously, the more water that is there, the higher the risk.

  And especially if it is during the implement weather in the winter where this moisture tends to freeze, expand, and as you start having the cracks in your foundation. So it’s a potentially huge issue.

  And the same is true with the roofs. If the water is standing there, the moisture is there, you’re going to continue to potentially get moisture exposure to the fascia boards, to the rafters, to the beams. And this is a structural element of the roofs that is not very easy to…

  repair. It’s like in order to properly repair, literally have to take the entire roof off. And this is an exercise that you don’t want to do every 20, 25 years. you are much better off when it comes down to managing the rainwater, do the preventative efforts as opposed to be reactive and dealing with the damage through the repairs or the replacement.

  Dylan Silver (14:06)
  Yeah.

  In New Jersey, and I know it’s going to be tough to say, there’s probably not one general rule of thumb here, but how long can people be expecting their roofs to last? I’ve been speaking with some roofers in the Sun Belt who told me roofs are just not lasting as long as they used to, whether that’s due to materials or what have you. How long can, if folks are buying a new home, can they expect their roof to last?

  Aleks Krylov (14:56)
  Excellent question and it all depends. So there are basic Asphalt shingle rules, is the of the dominant share of the marketplace. Technically they’re designed to last 20, 25 years and sort of more kind of premium you go in the pricing of the shingle, the more reinforced structure the shingle has and then for longer life you can expect to actually get out of that roof. That being said,

  What we’ve been observing is that the insurance companies are actually forcing homeowners to start thinking about replacement once the roof reaches the year mark around 15 years old. They may not necessarily insist on it, because between 15 to 20, but last year we did two roof replacements where literally insurance company where point and gun at the homeowner and says, you either replace your roof or we’re dropping the coverage. So.

  that element is happening. So if the materials, however, can last, it may be the circumstances from the insurance company that is forcing the homeowners to actually act on the replacement significantly sooner. And then you get the other elements or the other materials that are used in the roof and abyss. The slate has a very long longevity. Metal roofs have an extremely long longevity. So these are the elements that all needs to be considered when answering the question, how long they will

  Dylan Silver (16:43)
  Yeah.

  Now, you mentioned some different materials in the roof itself. I’ve seen metal roofs, for instance, indestructible, but also, I guess, the heat barrier. It allows heat to go through very quickly. Are you seeing more people maybe gravitating towards some alternative materials in roofing, or is it pretty much the same old, same old as far as roof design and materials?

  Aleks Krylov (17:29)
  It’s not. The evolution in the material used for the roofing industry ⁓ has been ongoing like with everything else. We obviously gone through the huge green ⁓ energy and energy efficiency ⁓ evolution or revolution in the States and roof is a big part of that. The roofing materials have been evolving to be more reflective of the sun and New Jersey is just coming around and adopting some of the

  practices in this energy efficient roof materials. And some manufacturers are responsive to the market demand. It makes a huge difference in the power usage, potentially up to 10 % in the overall heating and cooling cost if your color of the roof is reflective of the sunlight or not.

  when New Jersey can get very fairly warm in the summer. this is big aspect. But then the cost, right? Sometimes it’s easier to have this conversation with the commercial property owners who are thinking, you know, in terms of the yearly cost of maintenance, and they’re taking their horizon in managing their property, you know, over 30, 40, 50 years.

  Dylan Silver (18:23)
  Yeah.

  Aleks Krylov (18:53)
  With homeowners, it’s sometimes very challenging to translate this into the cost per year. For them, it’s a cash out of pocket right now. And therefore, the immediate cost of the material that they have to spend right now, that’s what dominates the conversation. So asphalt shingles by far is the most cost efficient material that you can get in there. Of course, are huge shades of gray when it comes down to the cost of a shingle.

  Dylan Silver (19:01)
  That’s right.

  Aleks Krylov (19:22)
  but the longer lasting roofs like metal, like slate, ⁓ or some alternative sort of combination of various roofing materials. If the homeowner is open to potentially higher ⁓ cash expenditure outright at the very beginning, the cost of ownership of that roof can potentially be materially lower if you translate it over the life of the entire ⁓ roof.

  Who’s life direction?

  Dylan Silver (19:54)
  Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s an interesting discussion because I’m thinking about, mean, you mentioned this is a cost right now. Yeah, we may need the roof, but also this is, you know, fifteen thousand dollars, maybe more. Are you seeing people look at and I’m thinking about this through my investor lens as a realtor. Are people ever, you know, taking out HELOCs or potentially refinancing their home to be able to pay for these types of repairs? Or is that really not on most folks radar when they’re having to

  know, put some type of large cash outlay to make these repairs.

  Aleks Krylov (20:28)
  I’ll be frank with you, I do not know, I do not have the data. We have a special financing packages that we make available to our clients through our partners. And they rely pretty much on their personal credit profile to get the terms and leverage those terms to get the financing. I have started having conversations with one partner who kind of…

  is thinking along the same lines that you are and what if they can get the HELOC or some form of equity-based financing vehicles and potentially ⁓ use that as sort of pay for the roof but become some other obligations as well. ⁓

  Dylan Silver (21:11)
  Yeah.

  Aleks Krylov (21:14)
  We have not worked out the sort of the full arrangement ⁓ on that yet.

  But I’m actually curious to see where these conversations are gonna go. And maybe a few months down the road, I’ll have an update for you.

  Dylan Silver (21:28)
  You

  it’s interesting because when people get to a certain point in home ownership, if they’re not investors, right, and they’re not thinking about buying a second property, third property as a rental, but this is their homestead, they’ve got to make some repairs. They don’t have, you know, however much money that they need to make these repairs. That’s when these homes can get into disrepair and disarray and become distressed assets. But if you’ve been living there for, you know, 15 years, you’re gonna have equity in the home, right?

  probably a substantial amount of equity. And so that type of thought, know, a home equity line of creditor or cash out refi, you know, I could see that being beneficial to folks in those circumstances. We are coming up on time here though, Aleks, any new projects that you’re working on and then as well, what’s the best way for folks to get in contact with your team?

  Aleks Krylov (22:18)
  Yeah, so we, ⁓ I’m just gonna recap of what we talked about. We have started as a gutter company. We have expanded doing roofing projects and I’ve done many of them over the last summer. And we are evolving and inviting the homeowners to think about the exterior ⁓ elements and rainwater management.

  holistically and systemically and that’s what we are bringing to the table. Yes, we can help with gutters, but we also can be a helpful thought partner around the roofing as well as the siding and some of the insulation work as well. With respect to getting in touch with us, we are at sternguttersnj.com or sternroofingnj.com and our phone number is 973-298-0767. We take texts, we take phone calls.

  and can always email me at [email protected].

  Dylan Silver (23:20)
  Aleks, thank you so much for taking the time today. Thanks for coming on the show.

  Aleks Krylov (23:24)
  Thanks for having me, Dylan this has been fun.