Insurance & Storm Damage · FAQ

How deep should ice and water shield extend?

IRC minimum: 24 inches inside the exterior wall line. For Madison County, Trill installs to 36 inches as our standard, and 48 inches on homes with a history of ice dam problems. The extra 12 to 24 inches of coverage adds about $80 to $140 of material on a typical home and provides a meaningful safety margin against the actual dam location.

The reason for going beyond code: code is written for the typical case, not the worst case. Madison County winters with extended cold snaps produce dams that can extend 30+ inches up from the eave. Code-minimum coverage at 24 inches gets overwhelmed on the worst-case events; 36 to 48 inch coverage doesn’t. The cost-to-protection ratio strongly favors the upgrade.