Ice Dam Help

[nightfighter]

I know many are concerned with snow and ice on their roofs. The forecast for temps in the 30s will be producing some leaking into the interiors of some houses with ice dams. If you can't get up there to rake and shovel, or break up the dams, here's what you can do. Put calcium chloride (ice melt) into a woman's nylon, or a dampened paper bag. Softball size will work. Toss it up 1-3 ft above the dam. This will melt a relief channel down through the dam to give the water a place to go. Also been using smalll laundry bags and, yes, eel bags. Will take a while to work, but won't harm roof shingles. More than one channel is better. Good luck to all.....

[BigFish]

The biggest problem is just finding the calcium chloride......good luck!

[Raven]

my ladder is buried under four feet of snow

i am thinking of snow blowing my way over to it tho
during the better half of SUNDAY (maybe today)

Still waiting for a new pair of neoprene gloves
to arrive from bass pro.... i need em Badly

I have G.H. Duty to do but its mostly hand work....
once you snow blow a relief trench...that is .... next to it
the problem with this damned winter isn't so much
the snow volume but the always below freezing temperatures

and the fact that i am close to having Pneumonia from a severe Battle
with the flu and having to work outside regardless in Blizzard or sub freezing conditions.

[fishsmith]

Good tip.
Is it Ice Dam or Damn ice?
I think the ice is holding up my gutter, i'm afraid if I touch it, it'll be like the last jenga piece moved before the tower falls. I saw a guy on his roof smashing at the edge with an ice chipper, if he gets thru the ice he's screwed.

[fishbones]

Thanks, Ross. I was at my mom's house from 11:30 pm until 1 am on Tuesday night breaking up ice dams because she was getting some water coming into her living room. I'll tell her to do this today and I'll do it at my house, too.

[ecduzitgood]

Could the water with the salt enter the house and cause additional damage if I am already getting water now?

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by BigFish

The biggest problem is just finding the calcium chloride......good luck!

I got 4 50# bags at HD late this morning. And they seemed to have plenty. But it was priced at $16.97...

Originally Posted by ecduzitgood

Could the water with the salt enter the house and cause additional damage if I am already getting water now?

Not much should be getting in once you release the back up of water with a channel. As for damage, no more than the salt you track in on your boots. Mold behind the walls and wet insullation is a different story....

[FishermanTim]

Another concern would be the impact of CaCl on your landscape, since the salt-laden water has to go somewhere.
(Sounds like the arguement about dumping snow in the rivers and ocean?)

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

Another concern would be the impact of CaCl on your landscape, since the salt-laden water has to go somewhere.
(Sounds like the arguement about dumping snow in the rivers and ocean?)

With the amount of rock salt in the snowbanks, my lawn will singed 20' back from the curb anyway.... Not one of my clients who have had leaking inside would put the shrubs ahead of the leak.

("Phuck it, Herb. Those are my prize roses.... I'll live with the leak....)

And it's not like you are putting up a ton of product... just enough to relieve the water back up.

Just thought of this, however... the calcium chloride will disintegrate mortar on brick stairs and walkways. Come spring, the portland will be gone and all that will be left between the brick is sand. Just saying....

[RIJIMMY]

i saw on the news they make hockey puck size calcium chlr tablets to chuck up there.

[ecduzitgood]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

i saw on the news they make hockey puck size calcium chlr tablets to chuck up there.

Are those the same one's I use in my pool? I can't get too them to read the label and my memory isn't that good. I know if you get a little water in the bucket of chlorine it starts a exothermic reaction that can actually generate enough heat to spontaneously combust.

[BigFish]

Just come from Lowe's.....what a seasonal mess that place is??? They will not be getting anymore calcium chloride in as its "ALMOST SPRING".....they are out??? What an outfit!!

[MarkB]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Just come from Lowe's.....what a seasonal mess that place is??? They will not be getting anymore calcium chloride in as its "ALMOST SPRING".....they are out??? What an outfit!!

I was in Sears yesterday - they have the Spring clothing in the women's section. I was looking for insulated mittens - they didn't have any.

[BigFish]

Their sense of seasonal needs is pretty bad!!

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Just come from Lowe's.....what a seasonal mess that place is??? They will not be getting anymore calcium chloride in as its "ALMOST SPRING".....they are out??? What an outfit!!

Christmas Tree Shop at PatPlace is loaded (at least they were 2 days ago).

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by ecduzitgood

Are those the same one's I use in my pool? I can't get too them to read the label and my memory isn't that good. I know if you get a little water in the bucket of chlorine it starts a exothermic reaction that can actually generate enough heat to spontaneously combust.

calcium chloride tablets and chlorine for the pool are 2 totally different things! Don't throw chlorine on the roof!

[fishbones]

They had a bunch at Shaw's in Easton the other day. Also, Benny's in Mansfield had it on Wed., but it looked like they were starting to phase the spring stuff in too.

[stripermaineiac]

If you can't find any just use mortons pickling salt. Get it wet and make a salt ball and throw it on the roof above the ice damn.

[JohnR]

And these saltballs / pucks don't create more problems that what already exists?

Does the meling create even more issues or does the thing go China Syndrome through the ice dam and make a breach?

[nightfighter]

In theory, the calcium chloride will melt a trough down and over the frozen gutter. The water has enough of the chemical to keep the opening from re-freezing and prevents a build up which causes the leaks.

You will want to hose the calcium chloride off the roof in the spring, but it will not damage the roof between now and then. It certainly outweighs the damage of leaks to the interior.... but do not use rock salt.

[PRBuzz]

Guys: remember your storage sheds. They were probably not built to the same standards as home construction, mine sure was not. They will not have ice dams, but the load is still substantial.

[Saltheart]

The idea is to make the breach. I don't know about doing it if there is already dripping inside the house or even behind the gutter into the soffet.

What I have seen is putting the Cal chloride in the sick and then laying the sock just behind the ice dam after you have raked about 2 to 3 of snow off above the gutter. That way the salty water as it melts just touches the very ends of the shingles , etc and then into the gutter. Of course accurately placing that sock just behind the dam does require you to get up there on a ladder. I did see one article with a guy who ties a short rope loop around the sock end and then heeoks the sock on a pole with like a boat hook end and he lays the sock down using the long pole instead of climbing the ladder.


Any way you slice it , ice dams are a B1tch. I have seen a problem with them maybe 5 times in the 45 years in my house.


The best way is to do the raking of the snow off the first few feet before the dam forms. If you get a storm that has the wet sticky snow that fills the gutter and has afoot of snow above it , you use a rake or blade on a long pole to rake the snow off as immediately after the storm as you can.

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by Saltheart

Of course accurately placing that sock just behind the dam does require you to get up there on a ladder. .

I can just stand on the snow pile and reach over my gutters

[Redsoxticket]

I was talking about the ice melt the size of a softball early today with GF. As I'm shoveling the roof of snow she said that socks are done. Instead of a softball size she made four the size of a large Italian bread. I laid them down near both drains on the north side of the house and the middle. The nylon stretches allowing to cover a larger area.
Thanks for the sock idea.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by Redsoxticket

I was talking about the ice melt the size of a softball early today with GF. As I'm shoveling the roof of snow she said that socks are done. Instead of a softball size she made four the size of a large Italian bread. I laid them down near both drains on the north side of the house and the middle. The nylon stretches allowing to cover a larger area.
Thanks for the sock idea.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Excellent! Tell her she done good! My bigger ones worked better. Made up about two dozen, in various sizes. The longer ones work best vertically or diagonally. I had more than a few smaller ones hit the hard ice and slide off the roof.... They used to sell a product called Ice Viper which was shaped like those draft guards used under doors.

[Saltheart]

I forgot to add...

Some pics show the sock made from nylon stocking legs , etc as being long like a french bread (I think someone mentioned this. These long socks the lay over the ice dam at 90 degrees. The idea is to melt a channel about 2 inches wide straight through the dam to let the water above it drain out. Some show these socks maybe every 4 feet apart.

The biggest spot i am worried about is where a 1 in 12 roof intersects a standard 3 in 12 slope roof. The flatter one has a membraine the steeper has regular shingles. The corner where they meet has a big chunk of ice growing along the both 90 degree directions. Its very high and very thick but especially where the two slabs meet in the corner.. Its also in a spot that is a real pain to get to , even with a ladder. That's the spot I may take the chance and go with the salt socks , etc.

Og BTW , one article was really particular to use the Cal Cl not Rock salt . I don't know why for sure but I think its damage caused by salt assisted corrosion or something like that. Anyway , they say do not use standard rock salt.

[piemma]

I spent 16 hours last weekend busting up the ice dams.

John's site it too much of a pain in the a$$ to post the pictures (sorry John just a little cranky tonight) but I used a 4# Dead Blow hammer I bought at HDP for $30 bucks.

Best $30 I ever spent. 63 years old and standing on a ladder swinging a 4# hammer for 16 hours is no fun. But you know what? All the ice dams are gone and I'm sleeping like a baby.

[spence]

Originally Posted by piemma

63 years old and standing on a ladder swinging a 4# hammer for 16 hours is no fun. But you know what? All the ice dams are gone and I'm sleeping like a baby.

Hell, I'd be sleeping like one too if I swung a 4# sledge for 16 hours!!!

-spence

[Swimmer]

Costco in Avon had lawn fertilizer and other outdoors furniture on display today. It was kind of funny. But for superbowl sunday Costco had about 15 different kiosks where you could get samples of different stuff. I truthfully ate my lunch there today.

[Swimmer]

W.B. Mason has it. Byu the friekin pallet.