Ice Dams part 3
I know that everyone is getting frustrated with the ice dams and the dripping. And the best thing to do is punch a hole in the ceiling to relive the water and catch it in a bucket.
If you watched last night’s news, you learned that using blow torches to melt the ice will work, but then your wife and the insurance company is really PO’d because you burned down the house!
It may be worth it to some of you to go on line and search under “Roof Broom” or “Roof
Rake”. They are basically “VERY” long handled brooms or rake the allow you to pull the snow off the roof. The question is how long will delivery take.
Another interesting idea is to take 2 or 3 pounds of ice melter and put it in the leg of a panty hose. And then VERY, VERY CAREFULLY lean out your window and flip the snow melt laden sock up onto the ice dam. In theory, the concentration of ice melt will melt a hole in the ice dam and relieve the water built up behind. I haven’t tried it but it sounds interesting. If anyone is successful, please let me know.
Another STUPID idea is to pry or knock the gutter off of your house. While it may or may not alleviate the ice dams, an ice filled gutter can easily weigh hundreds of pounds. Hundreds of pound falling one, two or three stories can cause lots of damage. Also remember that you really were NOT fast enough to get out of the way even 20 years ago.
Finally, the ice dams are caused by the heat in your house migrating up through your attic to your roof and melting the thick snow from underneath. When the water flows to the unheated overhangs, the water refreezes and refreezes and refreezes building up a dam of ice that holds the unfrozen water behind it. It is a rare (about every 10 years) occurrence. The only cost effective solution is to glue down sheet rubber 3 to 6 feet up the roof when you re-roof your home. Surprisingly, added insulation only slows the initial start of an ice dam, it WILL NOT eliminate an ice dam or stop the drips when the conditions are right. There are lots of reasons to airseal and add insulation to your house (It’s the least expensive way to lower your utility bills while making your house more comfortable). But, it will not stop an Ice Dam.
Before too long the ice and snow will melt and warm sunny weather will be here soon and you’ll be ready to repair the damage caused by the storms. I hope you consider MARK IV Builders when it comes time for those repairs.
Mark Scott
MARK IV Builders