Ice dam on my roof

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RichBrewer

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I came home to a big problem this evening. I was down in the basement and a drop of water hit me in the head. It was coming out of the heat duct. I went up stairs and saw that the ceiling and wall are completely soaked as is the carpet. I go out side and see the problem. I've got a huge ice dam at the way too small gutter. This tiny length of gutter can not handle the volume of water coming down. Any experts out there who can suggest what to do with this?
2967-RoofIce.jpg
 
Call your insurance company tomorrow, ice damning is covered by most insurance company's get a adjuster out there or take pictures in. As to fix it you can probably saw it down to where you can break the large pieces off. Then salt, lots of salt.
 
do you have only one downpipe for the whole roof?

...replace with a bigger pipe! The curves may be causing ice to form inside and then block it.

...check that the pipe is not clogged up internally
 
Crap Rich, how big is that pile in the upper level????

Man the last thing I would advise anyone to do would be to get a ladder out, but you might just have to. Unless you know someone with a bucket truck. But you're gonna have to get that ice out of there.

Call the Insurance Co. first tho, and take TONS of pics....


Ize
 
OK. I got a ladder and got up where I could get to the ice and snapped this pic. While up there I poured a bunch of ice melt on it. The ice is so thick that I don't think it will do much good. I also found a dry spot on the roof and crawled up to take a look. There is a pretty big drift going up about 15 feet. I was able to shovel some of it off but I can't get to most of it. There is talk of another storm coming this week so I'm not sure what to do.
2967-Roofice2.jpg
 
A propane torch on the duct to melt it???

You'd need practically a jack hammer. Sorry dude.:(
 
That truly is one of the most amazing things I've seen in a long long time....

Honestly? I'd see what the neighbors are doing. You can't be the only one with this right? Then if no-one offered any decent insight to beat the leaking roof I'd be back up in the morning as soon as the sun hits it, hacking that crap out, but that's just me. And the 15 foot drift... Can you get in the attic and see if you have any sagging up there?

Ize
 
Brewsmith said:
A propane torch on the duct to melt it???

You'd need practically a jack hammer. Sorry dude.:(
I tried the propane torch as well. It really doesn't melt the ice very good. I was quite surprised. I pounded on some of it and the ice is as hard as a rock. I might need a jack hammer.
 
1. Get as much of that snow off you roof as you can while at the same time NOT falling off the roof and busting your ass. If you have to tie yourself off to the chimney so if you do slip the rope stops you.

2. Get some ice melt on that dam. Make sure the stuff you use wont screw up your shingles or you gutters. Go after that dam with a hammer and chisel if you have to but again WATCH THE SHINGLES.

3. Head to the hardware store and get yourself some gutter heaters http://www.chromaloxheaters.com/chsrf.htm. . . they are basicly heating elements that make M's the length of your gutters and will help to keep them ice free. They aint cheep BUT they are cheeper then a new roof

4. In the spring add some ventalation to your roof/soffits and check the insulation in the bottom of your attic. Also make sure that the ventalation in your soffits isnt blocked by the insulation. This may sound wierd but you dont want a warm attic in the winter. If the attic is warm it melts the snow and causes the ice dams. If your attic is cool the snow wont melt and the ice dam problem is greatly reduced.

BTW . . . PROPANE TORCHES AND ROOFS ARE NOT A GOOD MIX!!! Unless you want to burn that roof off the house keep a torch away from the gutters and shingles. Shingels are normally made from tar. Tar is made from oil, coal, and wood. We all know how that stuff burns
 
oh yeah and buy a roof rake for next year. They arent that hard to work with and it's not as crappy to rake your roof as I thought it would be
 
I was just going with the gut instinct, but Pumbaa's list is dead on. (D'oh! forgot the firefighter on the boards!) Makes total sense. :rockin:

Ize
 
I looked at it best I could this morning and what I did didn't have much effect. I'll be trying more of your suggestions when I get home tonight.
Thanks everyone.
 
Being a firefighter, I have to suggest NOT using the Propane Torch on the roof or the gutters. Use Pumbaa's list of things to use and one other suggestion would be to add some insulation in those areas (on the inside) you have a heat lost issue in those areas causing the snow to melt and freeze. Or you can do what my brother does put small tarps down and when the snow build up he pulls a rope and pulls the tarps down with the snow. Then replaces the traps no snow damns.
 
Long term, you need to change that gutter configuration also. That's just too small an area for water to drain effectively, especially in a climate like yours. Since your attic insulation is most likely wet anyway, you'll need to get up there an replace it or you will have a massive mold problem this summer. You can get new soffit vent shields when you buy the insulation. They're basically just a styrofoam channel that keeps the insulation from clogging the soffit vents so you can get th insulation right up to the edge of the heated living space and ensure no heat loss.

Short term, you may want to just take that gutter off so the problem doesn't get worse until you can fix it properly.
 
zweasel said:
Being a firefighter, I have to suggest NOT using the Propane Torch on the roof or the gutters.


what do Firemen know anyways?.....TORCH IT!!


well either torch it or maybe throw a crap load of rock salt on it to help break it up. But I am from AZ so I really dont know that much about ice removal.
 
olllllo said:
We know enough to remove ourselves from icy environments! :mug:


very good point indeed!!!

Pumbaa said:
Not enuff of what we should but more then enuff to get us in a lot of trouble

Funny thing is that all my firefighter friends actually would want you to torch your roof. It would give them the chance to go out and play with the shiny red truck and the yellow suits
 
Chimone said:
very good point indeed!!!



Funny thing is that all my firefighter friends actually would want you to torch your roof. It would give them the chance to go out and play with the shiny red truck and the yellow suits

bah roofs are boring . . . now basements :rockin: plus basment fires have a tendency to spread and let us have even more fun
 
Get yourself a long ass drill bit and put a couple pilot holes in that damn, then attack with the hammer. This leaves no rock salt or other crap up there that could damage the roof, and it keeps you from using any form of flame.
 
if worse comes to absolute worse fire up the turkey fryer and hit that damn with some HOT water.

Reason I didnt mention this earlier is 1 you stand a good chance at scalding yourself going up the ladder, it's a pita, and I R A retard and didnt think about it but it has worked for me in the past
 
Seriously though, I would be up there with a crowbar / pickaxe and smash the living bejesus out of it. (safety glasses on though of course). Would not use hot water as it will just freeze again.

Swift and sudden violence may not be the answer to all problems but it sure does cope with most and feels DAMM good.
 
use a drill and an M-80. By the way, do you know a good roofer?

Seriously, sorry to hear about your problem. I worry every time it rains that my roof will start leaking or something crappy like that.
 
Thanks for posting that! I put up some gutters as a Christmas surprise for SWMBO, but they're on a screen porch w/ low roof angle. Guess I'll spring for another downspout, even though it doesn't snow much here. Lots of rain & freezing temps, tho!
 
Makes me glad I don't live in New Jersey any more. We had chronic ice problems. I wonder if a really big steam carpet cleaner would help? Ice has such a high heat capacity though.
 
Hopfan said:
Long term, you need to change that gutter configuration also. That's just too small an area for water to drain effectively, especially in a climate like yours. Since your attic insulation is most likely wet anyway, you'll need to get up there an replace it or you will have a massive mold problem this summer. You can get new soffit vent shields when you buy the insulation. They're basically just a styrofoam channel that keeps the insulation from clogging the soffit vents so you can get th insulation right up to the edge of the heated living space and ensure no heat loss.

Short term, you may want to just take that gutter off so the problem doesn't get worse until you can fix it properly.
I was thinking this too. I just don't know how to re-design the gutter configuration and I'm going to have to attack the insulation from the out side as the room inside has vaulted ceilings with no attic.
 
Chimone said:
what do Firemen know anyways?.....TORCH IT!!


well either torch it or maybe throw a crap load of rock salt on it to help break it up. But I am from AZ so I really dont know that much about ice removal.
I actually applied the heat directly to the ice and not to anything flammable. All it did was make the ice shiny and very clear.
The rock salt ended up working great. Most of the ice dam is gone and the water is draining off the roof. The leaks inside have stopped. The fact that it was in the 50s today didn't hurt either.:mug:
 
I think the biggest source of my problem came from clogged gutters. I was able to free the ice over one down spout and it was packed with leaves. Once I cleaned it out the gutters worked much better.
Between that and the gutters being too small, that's what caused most of the problems.
Thanks everyone!
 
Ize said:
Glad to hear things are coming together Rich. Hope the inside cleanup isn't too painful.

Ize
Looks like I may need to replace some drywall on the ceiling and walls but not too bad. I'm going to let it dry out real good before I decide.
 
RichBrewer said:
Looks like I may need to replace some drywall on the ceiling and walls but not too bad. I'm going to let it dry out real good before I decide.


PITA that it may be, if it got real wet, you may want to go ahead and replace it. You know how weird people are about mold these days. (hell i was fascinated with mold as a kid but what the hell do i know?) It may save you headaches down the line.

Just a thought. All the best tho man. :rockin:

Ize
 
Ize said:
PITA that it may be, if it got real wet, you may want to go ahead and replace it. You know how weird people are about mold these days. (hell i was fascinated with mold as a kid but what the hell do i know?) It may save you headaches down the line.

Just a thought. All the best tho man. :rockin:

Ize
I don't mind replacing the drywall. It's the mud and tape I hate. Not to mention matching the existing texture.

Thanks Ize
 
Well we called the insurance company yesterday and Surfpro is here right now drying everything out and ripping out dry wall. They also tore out a chunk of carpet. Pretty good mess going right now. Now I gotta find out what the insurance is going to cover.
 
You can see what they have done to our living room. They set up 3 fans and a large dehumidifier and they have been running constant since Friday evening. The walls are still wet so they want to leave the fans running until tomorrow. I'm ready for the fans to go away. :(
2967-Fans.jpg
 
I'm glad you guys suggested calling the insurance. We just got a check for $1700 that will be used to replace the carpet and repair the drywall. They won't pay for fixing the ice dam problem so I have to figure something out to prevent it in the future.
I decided to do the repairs myself. We are thinking about putting in Pergo flooring instead of the carpet. Hopefully I can have the room back in shape without any $$$ out of my pocket.:ban:
 
If you do it yourself you should be good to go with what you got from the Ins. Co.
I hadn't seen the pic of the fans etc. At work we just had those in our office week before last, except there were about 25 of the fans and 5 of the big dehumidifiers. We had a pipe burst in the kitchen area and had about 3 inches of water in our conference room, kitchen, sales offices...

I was sick of the fans too by day 2.

Good luck with the rehabbing!

Ize
 
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