Ice

Your house has an ice dam? Part 2

Today everyone seemed to be having issues with ice dams clogging their gutters causing all sorts of water problems in their homes. Melting water from your roof hits your gutters and refreezes when temperatures are below freezing for an extended period of time.  Most water flows over the ice forming icicles, but it slowly builds up until the water begins to flow back into your home.

Isn’t gravity cool?

If you are planning to climb a ladder to pull out the ice, then bring up some table salt. Kosher salt is also effective in breaking up the ice. Making some room for sunlight to hit the area is also essential because you want that to help get the water moving down the downspout and away from your home.

Like any sort of operation involving a ladder, have a friend close by to help move it (and to call 911 if you fall). Take your time and use a tool like a garden hoe to pull off some extra snow.

Use Table or Kosher Salt in to break up ice

It is important to understand that your down spouts need to be clear so that they can drain any water and allow fresh air to reach the top easily. In a post in December after a snow storm dumped 20″+ on Vienna, Virginia,  I mentioned the same issues when preparing for winter storms and the rapid melting that takes place.

I removed this section of the downspout that was clogged and about 15 feet of perfect ice came down in sections. I used a mallet to break up the sections but was amazed at the extent of the blockage in the downspout.

Most professional roofers, if you can reach them, can’t do too much right now to save your home. But they will tell you to make sure the gutter drains are clear, use table or kosher salt to break up the ice, flush with hot water if possible, be extremely careful climbing any ladders, and understand that an insurance claim may be in order after everything has melted.

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Ice

Your house has an ice dam?

One of the problems of having too much snow and below freezing temperatures for a week is the gutter ice dam. This happens when the gutter stops draining due to compacted snow or a block of ice. Then, the warm air escaping from your home generates just enough heat to melt the snow pack causing the gutter to fill with water. Hopefully it flows out, and not back in…

You have probably seen how a reservoir gets filled when the dam is closed, well, this is the same type of event except that the water backs up and into your house.

Over the past two days I have had two friends in Vienna, Virginia call me about leaks inside their homes. One was at a bay window below a soffit vent, and the other was from the roof on a three story colonial. That leak flowed all the way downstairs in the family room. And in both cases, little can be done right now because the ice in the down spouts needs to melt and allow the water to drain properly.

Ice dams are uncommon in Northern Virginia and this year (2010) is unique because we are setting a historic record for annual snowfall. At my home in Vienna, VA, we measured 24″ of fresh snow on Saturday afternoon and another 8″ of snow on Wednesday afternoon. Combine that with below freezing temperatures since last weekend(at 3:38 P.M., it is only 20°)  and there really hasn’t been any natural melting.

Homeowner’s insurance was intended to cover ice dams

One of the tell-tail signs of a potential problem is when icicles form from your gutters. The ice is now firmly in place and any melting snow is now flowing right over the gutter. The melting is fine as it flows over the gutter, but when the flow backs up is when it can come through the house.

At this point,  I personally have to trust the fact that my builder and roofer did everything possible six years ago to protect my home from an ice dam.

When your roof gets repaired one day in the future, make sure there is a drip edge and sufficient roof flashing is installed to prevent water penetration. If you have really had it with asphalt roofs, then maybe you should consider a metal roof where snow slides off much more easily. A friend in Vienna had a metal roof installed recently so I will get that name for this post.

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• Winterize your house… before the freeze (dougfrancis.com)
• Your house has an ice dam? Part 2 (dougfrancis.com)