What is Ice Damming?  – An ice dam can form on almost any roof after a substantial snowfall. The interior heat of a structure causes snowmelt: the melted snow accumulates and later freezes to form an ice dam – acting like a miniature glacier along the eaves.

As the ice dam grows larger, it forms a barrier which prevents water from draining. As more snow melts, water flows down the pitch of the roof and backs up behind the ice dam, gradually forcing its way under the shingles and through the roof deck into the structure.

The effects can range from stained walls and ceilings to severe water damage in multiple rooms. During a single winter, ice dams can easily cost thousands of dollars in a family home, condominium, apartment building or commercial structure, and unless the leakage problem is corrected, the damage will happen again and again.

Some common attic bypasses are:

-           Vent stack (the upper portion of the plumbing waste pipe through which gases and odors escape).

-          Attic entry (hatch doors, pull-down stairs or stairways).

-          Chaseways (where chimneys, garbage chutes, etc., go between floors and attic).

-          Heating ducts (where ducts go through the attic).

-          Shared walls between apartments.

-          Places where electrical wires, electrical boxes and fan housings penetrate into the attic.

-          Improperly vented bathroom fans and/or kitchen range hood fans (vented into the attic rather than outside).

 Ice dams should only be removed to prevent damage to the property. If your roof is not leaking or in danger of collapsing, then the dam need not be removed. Palmer Brothers has experience in the removal of ice dams and although experienced and careful, damage to the roof and/or gutters may occur during the process.

 PREPARE by having Palmer Brothers inspect and repair your roof, flashing, gutters and downspouts prior to winter.  Have Palmer Brothers clean out the gutters and flush the downspouts to insure proper drainage and if the size of the gutter is the problem we can replace them with new seamless appropriate sized gutters.  Contact done of our Business Development professionals today.

As a Property Manager you spend a large amount of time on the road, in meetings, ARC inspections, engineering site inspections, Client and Board meetings then off to the next property to do it all again. How do you manage your time to be a successful manager and have a life at home as well?

Palmer Brothers is proud to introduce to you our new web site and we would like to invite you to preview what we’ve done. It is our intention to utilize our site to introduce you to our many services while also providing you, our Property Manager clients, an Educational Source. We will also have an interactive calendar with events from organizations we serve to include PMA, Chesapeake Chapter of CAI, Metro Chapter of CAI, BOMA, FRPA, IREM and NAPE.

We will also keep you informed about changes within Palmer Brothers such as the fact that we now accept Visa and Master Card and that we have several Certified Lead Paint Renovator crews. Please see our site for more details on these subjects and give us your feedback.

WINTER DISCOUNTS ON INTERIOR WORK

As we have always done for our loyal customers and friends, Palmer Brothers will be offering discounted pricing for interior work completed during the winter months, December 31 – March 31. Email or call for details.

Lead Base Certified Renovators

As noted above, Palmer Brothers is a Certified Lead Base Paint Renovator providing fifteen (15) supervisors who have been certified by an EPA trainer to work within Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC as well as any other state recognizing the EPA approved procedures. All renovations, painting or any other projects where lead paint or paint suspected to be lead must be completed by a certified renovator or the building owner will face fines up to $32,500.00 per an occurrence. For details see our site addressing EPA Lead Paint Renovations. Palmer Brothers also offers a presentation for you and your staff addressing the concerns, policies and requirements for proper Lead Paint renovation.

Thank you for your time and please take a moment to get familiar with our new site, services we offer, and Palmer Brothers. Allow us to make you the envy of the neighborhood.