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Old 02-25-2014, 08:37 AM
 
422 posts, read 571,468 times
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I just moved to Farmington in July. Bought a house and had an inspection done. Everything looked good enough. Some things to fix, but nothing major. Now that we've had the perfect recipe for ice dams, I have some very minor ones forming. I've never had ice dams before, so I don't know much. I do know 100% the reason for mine is poor insulation. When it was in the 40s last week, my roof melted the snow on the outer edges, but the snow in the middle remained. Obviously I have some heat loss issues due to poor insulation. I plan to address this in the spring.

For now, I just want to get rid of the ice dams. The previous owner installed those black plastic "gutter guard covers" so that leaves couldn't get into the gutters. I'm not sure if those are to blame. I can't even see inside the gutters to see if they are full of water themselves or not, but I know for sure the ice has formed on top of them and there are some very small icicles. I've seen bad ice dams, and I am nowhere near that point. I still dislike the idea of any ice dams, though.

Just wondering if I could go to Home Depot and get some of those pellets that are safe for a roof and melt some of the ice. Winter will be over soon, and I have all spring and summer to address my insulation.

Thanks!
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Old 02-25-2014, 09:07 AM
 
Location: Bel Air, California
23,769 posts, read 28,881,934 times
Reputation: 37326
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonybarnaby View Post
I just moved to Farmington in July. Bought a house and had an inspection done. Everything looked good enough. Some things to fix, but nothing major. Now that we've had the perfect recipe for ice dams, I have some very minor ones forming. I've never had ice dams before, so I don't know much. I do know 100% the reason for mine is poor insulation. When it was in the 40s last week, my roof melted the snow on the outer edges, but the snow in the middle remained. Obviously I have some heat loss issues due to poor insulation. I plan to address this in the spring.

For now, I just want to get rid of the ice dams. The previous owner installed those black plastic "gutter guard covers" so that leaves couldn't get into the gutters. I'm not sure if those are to blame. I can't even see inside the gutters to see if they are full of water themselves or not, but I know for sure the ice has formed on top of them and there are some very small icicles. I've seen bad ice dams, and I am nowhere near that point. I still dislike the idea of any ice dams, though.

Just wondering if I could go to Home Depot and get some of those pellets that are safe for a roof and melt some of the ice. Winter will be over soon, and I have all spring and summer to address my insulation.

Thanks!
If you have a single story home, I'd start with a snow rake and pull what snow you can reach back to 8 or 10 ft from the roof edge and let these high sunny days take care of most of your work. Hard to avoid any build-up with gutters as they will freeze solid even without the leaf guards and start the damming process. The best method to prevent these is by using heat tape both at the roof edge and along the bottom of the gutter and through the downspout. Costs a bit to run but it isn't necessary to do so continuously.

Haven't ever used the ice melt on the roof but unless you can maintain a continuous clear area and provide a path for the water to leave, I can't much see their effectiveness.
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Old 02-25-2014, 09:11 AM
 
Location: SE Michigan
6,191 posts, read 18,098,553 times
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I'm in Michigan but your post caught my eye since I'm dealing with a similar issue. No icicles but my gutters are solid with ice. I found this handy link which disparages most of the "DIY" methods:

How To Remove Ice Dams | Structure Tech Home Inspections

However the idea of using old socks filled with ice melt seems to work for many people. I waas thinking about placing several along the length of the gutter, especially by the downspouts. If it works, great...if not the cost is minimal (labor as well if you have a ranch house.)
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Old 02-25-2014, 09:55 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,108,358 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chiroptera View Post
I'm in Michigan but your post caught my eye since I'm dealing with a similar issue. No icicles but my gutters are solid with ice. I found this handy link which disparages most of the "DIY" methods:

How To Remove Ice Dams | Structure Tech Home Inspections

However the idea of using old socks filled with ice melt seems to work for many people. I waas thinking about placing several along the length of the gutter, especially by the downspouts. If it works, great...if not the cost is minimal (labor as well if you have a ranch house.)
I looked at that link...we've used the ice melt in panty hose very successfully in the past, however, why would you lay them perpendicular to the ice?? That just doesn't make sense. We lay them on the ice and move them around as needed. Doing what that blogger suggested would be like laying down a strip of ice melt on your driveway and waiting for it to melt the entire driveway. Our roofer suggested we do that--older house with lots of peaks and valleys in the frozen north . We've done some reinsulation and that has helped though.
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Old 02-25-2014, 12:42 PM
 
701 posts, read 1,700,328 times
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You put them perpendicular to the edge of the roof to create a channel that allows water to run all the way off of the roof without getting trapped by ice.
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Old 02-25-2014, 12:44 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,108,358 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MnMomma View Post
You put them perpendicular to the edge of the roof to create a channel that allows water to run all the way off of the roof without getting trapped by ice.
Except that it doesn't melt the ice doing it that way. The same result can be had by actually melting the ice.
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Old 02-25-2014, 01:09 PM
 
701 posts, read 1,700,328 times
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If you melt all of the ice, that's great. This method isn't trying to do that--it's just creating a way for trapped ice to escape and not back up and cause leaks.
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Old 02-25-2014, 01:28 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,108,358 times
Reputation: 10691
Quote:
Originally Posted by MnMomma View Post
If you melt all of the ice, that's great. This method isn't trying to do that--it's just creating a way for trapped ice to escape and not back up and cause leaks.


How does it let the ice escape if it's frozen? I'm missing something here.
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Old 02-25-2014, 01:44 PM
 
643 posts, read 1,033,868 times
Reputation: 471
Either way can work but with the sock, the water gets wicked down the sock and drains off the edge. You can put up a bunch of socks and try to melt the entire dam but not everyone has so many large socks to donate for the cause.

Only use calcium chloride pellets on the roof, not rock salt.

OP: The problem is with air leakage. Air passes through insulation but you need to seal air leaks, which is elevating your attic temperature and leading to snow melt. You will get some ice daming on north-facing sides of houses because the roof temperature is not getting as much sun as the south side. A snow roof rake makes a big difference.
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Old 02-25-2014, 01:47 PM
 
Location: SE Michigan
6,191 posts, read 18,098,553 times
Reputation: 10355
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal View Post


How does it let the ice escape if it's frozen? I'm missing something here.
I'm guessing that as it thaws, the channels let whatever ice that melts flow off the roof before refreezing, so it has less chance of building up on and under the shingles?

That's how I read it, anyway. All the instructions I've read for the "ice sock" method say to hang them over the edge of the roof or gutters.
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