6 Tips for Preventing Ice Damage In Your Garage

Snow melting in the garage is a common problem for homeowners who live in snowy climates. Snowfall, whether mild or heavy, and regular snowstorms can cause damage to your garage in several ways. This includes slippery surfaces that can cause slip and falls, as well as floor damage from road salts and pools of water. 

If you frequently deal with ice in your garage, this article is for you.

How Snow Can Damage your Garage?

As the temperature outdoors continues to fall, snow and ice are only a matter of time. As a homeowner, you should be aware of how winter weather might affect your garage and take the necessary precautions to prevent garage damage and protect it as effectively as possible.

Winter’s harsh weather can do significant harm to your garage door. The following are a few of the most common issues homeowners have with their garage doors throughout the winter.

Frozen Garage Doors

Take an ice scraper and head outside to the garage’s exterior if the door has frozen shut. Carefully chip away the ice, avoiding the weather-stripping seal at the base. Pick up as much as possible and sweep it away from the entrance.

Water Damage

The right insulation and hardware in your garage will help keep the moisture out throughout the winter. Homeowners with wooden doors are particularly susceptible to this problem, as wood expands when exposed to cold temperatures.

Doors will start fitting snugly into the frame as the wood swells from exposure to moisture. In addition, your door’s hardware might eventually get worn out from the constant rubbing, leading to a jammed door.

Plastic Damage

Plastic or vinyl garage doors are susceptible to damage during the cold season. When the temperature drops below zero, these materials often break. If the cracks are severe or frequent, replacing your garage door with one more suited to colder regions is recommended.

Rubber weather stripping can dry up and crack, allowing water, insects, and filth to enter your garage. Adding or replacing the rubber stripping beneath and around the sides of the garage door is all that is required to weather-seal the garage.

Damage to Garage Roof

The accumulation of snow and ice on the roof of your garage might result in leakage-related damage. Water can become stuck on a roof, freeze, and form an ice dam, causing more water to pool, seep beneath the shingles, and cause interior damage.

Ensure your garage is adequately insulated and aired to avoid dangerous ice blockages. During the winter, clean your gutters to prevent them from becoming ice-clogged, or remove the gutter system from your garage entirely.

Ways to Prevent Ice Damage

Here are some methods to keep snow melts from damaging your garage and causing safety hazards.

Garage Floor Snow Mats

A snow mat will prevent road salts and de-icing liquids from damaging your concrete. In addition, they reduce slip-and-fall incidents caused by water that accumulates and freezes overnight on the garage floor. In addition, they perform a wonderful job of keeping your garage floor clean.

These mats are often designed with integrated edges to ensure that all snow and ice that accumulates onto the mat remains on the surface. It will prevent snow melt from spreading across your garage floor, ensuring your safety and the protection of your garage door and floor.

Garage Floor Fan

Snow runoffs can cause moisture and water pools in your garage; therefore, installing a floor fan can pull the moisture out of the garage, leaving it dry and clean. With a blower fan, you’ll be able to minimize the garage’s humidity level, preventing melting snow from dissolving road salt all over the floor.

It will also prevent the cement floor from cracking without a polyaspartic coating or protective garage floor tiles. If the cardboard is used as a temporary solution, then moisture in the cardboard will be reduced before it can reach the cement floor below.

Use a Squeegee

Squeegees are simple to use and do an outstanding job removing snow from your home. After parking your car, open the garage door and shovel out the snow.

If the snow has melted, you may still use a squeegee to remove water from your garage. Removing snow from your garage will be easier if your car is not in the way.

If your car has been in your garage for a long and the snow has melted, you can park it outdoors for a time and use a squeegee to remove the melted snow. Then, wash your car and park it indoors again.

Epoxy Coating

The application of an epoxy coating to your garage floor will protect it from dampness and enhance its aesthetic appeal. Epoxy coating has a water-resistant quality that keeps your floor from damage due to ice melt and dampness. Epoxy is a sealer that safeguards concrete and other flooring materials.

This formidable barrier covers the underlying surface. Epoxy’s membrane-like covering adheres to the surface of the rough flooring, therefore extending the durability of the concrete beneath it.

As a protection layer, this material prevents the concrete from deteriorating, cracking, and even collapsing. In addition, the surface does not retain stains and prevents concrete flaws from forming. Typically, many coats are applied over the course of several days, resulting in a thick and rubbery epoxy coating.

Sump Pump

A sump pump is a device that transfers water from a home’s basement to the outdoors. Typically, a sump is a hole cut beneath the main surface of your basement’s floor. This basin-like pit contains the sump pump.

The pump contains valves that detect rising water levels or pressure. Sump pumps automatically pump excess water out from the floor and away from your home via a discharge line when the water level rises too high.

When the temperature rises, snow melt can become still water in your garage. You can solve this problem by using a flexible hose or a sump pump to pull out the water.

The outflow from your sump pump should be directed to a specified spot, such as a dry well, a stream, a pond, or even a community drain. Be careful not to place the drain point in a location where water will return to your home.

Consult your local government to establish where your sump pump may drain since some municipalities have construction rules that dictate this.

Overall, the addition of a sump pump will prevent ice damage from happening in and outside your garage.

Improve Insulation

Inadequate insulation might cause damage to the garage floor. Improving the garage’s insulation will help keep a suitable temperature. You can add fiberglass insulation to the walls and ceiling, or you can target gaps and holes using foam insulation.

Improving the insulation in your garage will protect your vehicle from freezing temperatures and prevent ice from accumulating on the floor and causing damage. Avoid accumulating snow and ice on your driveway.

It is hazardous and might cause damage to your driveway. If you let snow accumulate, it will be difficult to enter and exit your driveway, and you risk trailing snow and ice into your garage.

That’s why Danley’s Garages is #1 in Chicagoland for detached garage construction. Speak to a specialist and get a free quote today.