February Thaw in Minnesota, and Ice Dams are Everywhere.

[MineralMan]

The past couple of days have brought temperatures in the low 40s. Like so many Minnesotans this year, my house has ice dams at the gutters on both sides of the house. We had them last year, too, and I just ignored them and we had no problem. This year, they're worse, though, and I've been thinking a lot about them.

The local news is full of horror stories about what can happen due to them and keep interviewing people who make a living removing these ice dams. The cost to have them steamed away and the snow removed from the roof runs about $300/hr. That's not doable for me. So, I've been thinking for about a week. Earlier this week, I found an inexpensive alternative described on the Internet. I'm not going up on my roof. Period. Too damned dangerous in the winter. But this idea sounded good, so I tried it on Friday.

It uses panty hose and ice melt salt. The basic tip was to fill pairs of panty hose with salt, then toss 'em up on the roof so the salt-filled legs crossed the ice dams. The idea is that the salt will melt the ice and create channels that let the water drain from the roof, instead of backing up under your roofing and leaking into your house.

Well, that didn't sound very efficient, really, since a lot of the salt wouldn't be doing anything. So, I modified it. Instead of using the whole pantyhose, I bought some cheap knee-high nylons at the dollar store on Friday. I filled those with the ice melt salt, then tied them off at the top. With a step-ladder, gingerly placed in the deep snow around my house, I draped these across the ice dams, about 2' apart.

Amazingly, by the end of the day Saturday, they had melted down through the ice dam enough to provide a drainage path for the water behind it. They're still there, melting even further down, and the snow on the roof is melting more and more. It looks like this is going to work OK. I keep monitoring it, but it appears to be doing the job.

If this works, then the hype is wrong, and you don't need an expensive service to deal with this common problem. It may just be that some businesses are using scare tactics and press releases to get the radio and TV news people to promote their deal. It'll be interesting to see, and I'll be writing more about this on my own website/blog, if that's the case.

Now, I don't even know if I would have had problems. I didn't last year, and none of my neighbors in this neighborhood of 50s houses are doing anything about these ice dams. Maybe it's all hype. But, for a total cost of about $20, I have channels through my ice dams now. I didn't call one of the many roofing companies who are charging $300/hr. but did some research, and tried an alternative method.

Just another way to save money and try to protect my house from damage. Will it work? I think so. I sure hope so. Will my neighbors who are ignoring the situation have damage? I hope not. If they don't, I'll have wasted $20, but not several hundred.

[Angry Dragon]

1. Slope of the roof is a factor also

Ice dams are very real in Minnesota

[MineralMan]

10. Yup. We have farly steep rooflines on our house, and

long overhangs, so that will help.

[madaboutharry]

2. That was very ingenious of you.

Maybe you should tell your neighbors.

[MineralMan]

6. Oh, they've been watching this old man do the job, and I've talked

to nearby neighbors. It's a little late to do it now, with the roofs melting quickly already.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I wonder what damage if any the salt would do to the roof?

[MineralMan]

7. None. It might play the dickens with my plantings under the

eaves, though. I don't know. Asphalt shingles aren't harmed by salt. More damage could be done with the steam being used.

[eleny]

4. We used to get ice dams routinely...

Our solution was to buy roofing heat tape. They're like long, heavyish extension cords. You put them up on the roof in a zig zag pattern and then lay them in the gutters and pull it down through a downspout. Plug them in when you get heavy snow. Unplug when the job is done.

They work beautifully. Our house is a ranch style that faces north on the front side. So that's where we get the dams.

Since we're getting older and don't want to mess with putting them up every autumn we've decided to leave them up there. Our roofing is green with black flecks so we got the black heat tape. I believe it comes in some other colors.

Good luck with your solution!

[MineralMan]

8. Yeah, I'll probably invest in that stuff next year. Too late this year,

though. Boy, are there ice dams everywhere, though. I've been looking.

[eleny]

17. Ice dams are definitely bad for roofs. Good that you used your idea

I read that ice melt salt isn't harmful. So your emergency solution was way better than letting it go.

The thing to remember is that winter weather sneaks up in sates like ours so don't wait past September. We made that mistake one year. Never again! :D

[MadHound]

9. I'm actually thinking about doing that as well,

How much does it cost?

[eleny]

16. There are several brands. We got Easy Heat by ADKS

You have to measure to see how much you'd need and therefore how much it will cost you. If you search web sites you'll find a calculator to help determine how much you'll need. They come in various lengths and connect end to end. I'm sure we bought extra and needed it. Depends on how tall you make your zig-zag patterns.

Hubby said we've had a few different kinds over the years and this brand is the easiest to work with and it doesn';t appear to be deteriorating. He doesn't use the thermostat that comes with it since it goes by air temperature instead of the roof. We'd probably use it if we went away on a trip, though.

We got ours at Amazon.

[Little Star]

27. Ya learn the darnedest things on DU! Is this what you are talking about?

Thanks for mentioning heat tape I had never heard of it and we had a terrible problem with ice dams this year. We used calcium magnesium acetate on our roof and gutters because "This Old House" told us to. They said it is safe for shingles which regular salt for de-icing is not.

You taught me something. Thanks!

[sufrommich]

5. Let us know if it works. Ice dams are the worst thing about the

winter thaw.

[MineralMan]

11. Yeah, I'll come back when the roof is clear and tell how it worked.

[Odin2005]

12. It's 45F out in Fargo. AMAZING how fast things are melting!

[MineralMan]

13. I saw that in the weather report. And it looks like it's going to

last all week! Yay! I can sense the end of Winter.

[Odin2005]

15. But it's gonna get cold again next weekend!

:cry:

[MineralMan]

25. Yah. Winter's not over by a long shot.

There's still the big march storm that dumps 10" on everything, then melts two days later.

[Odin2005]

29. Oh god, we don't need any more snow.

[uppityperson]

14. huh, will have to pass this on to my family there. thanks for the idea and hope it works.

[DevonRex]

18. MM, you're doing a great job

of letting people know about ways to NOT waste their money. Even better, your ideas don't promote buying cheap crap made overseas in order to save.

[LWolf]

19. I've never even heard of ice dams.

I get snow on the roof every year; rarely deep snow, maybe 6 inches or so, on average. It lasts a few weeks, and melts off slowly once daytime temps get into the high 30s. I HAVE had some pretty intimidating icicles; 6 inch diameter and 4 feet long. I generally ignore them, except those that hang in front of the steps off the back or front porch.

My mom lives 45 miles to the south, at a higher elevation that gets a lot more snow. She doesn't do anything to the snow on her roof, either. Her roof has a steep pitch; the snow slides off by itself. It stays cold enough there that the snow will stick around a lot longer. In winters with heavy snowfall, the snow piles up under the eaves a couple of feet from the side of the house, until all you can see out the windows is a wall of snow rising to roof level.

My grandson has been known to climb that wall when it begins to slope, all the way to the roof.

What is an "ice dam?"

Maybe ice that clogs gutters? Come to think of it, I don't have gutters, and neither does my mom. Rain just pours off the eaves.

[Angry Dragon]

21. These guys do a much better job of answering you than I could

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1068.html

[Bonhomme Richard]

20. I paid a guy $300 to shovel my roof so all I have left..

are the ice dams. I read the same thing about the stockings that you did and I was getting ready to do it but decided that getting rid of the snow weight was more important. My dams should melt away in a couple of days since there is no more snow to feed them.
And $300 was cheap. I figured my life was worth more than $300 and it was lower than my insurance deductible if my roof collapsed.

[Texasgal]

22. What the heck is an Ice Dam?

Weirdo Central Texan wants to know...:p

[elias49]

23. I've lived in the same house for 25 years

and I've never seen ice dams like the ones I have this winter.
Even metal roofed homes are icing up, and generally snow and ice don't 'stick' to metal roofs.
Currently 6' of ice along the eaves and 16 inches of snow on top of that. A friggin nightmare.
I'm in New Hampshire by the way.

[MineralMan]

24. It's been a very snowy year. Our ice dams started with the big

December 11 blizzard of 2010. It's bad, for sure.

[elias49]

26. Yup. Same here.

And we never had our "January thaw" that magical time after the holidays when things go mild for a few days. We've had about 8 straight weeks where the daytime temps are around 20 and it's 0 or a few degrees below 0 every night. Just ruthless.

[Little Star]

28. Is regular sidewalk salt melt good for your roof? No.....

according to "This Old House". They said you should use Calcium Magnesium and other things because they won't harm your roof. I can't remember the exact name of the different salt melt items they recommended because it was on the news here in MA and I am getting old-timers.

We used Calcium Magnesium Acetate (that's what they had at our hardware store) after hearing that the regular salt was not good for your roof.

Here is a article with videos, news people talking to Tom Silva from "This Old House".
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/02/03/tips-for-clearing-snow-off-your-roof/

This is also a good article:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skill-builder/0,,211604,00.html

[MineralMan]

30. Monday roof report...

Going well, still. The gutters are actually draining now. I guess that salt has melted the ice on the bottom, allowing water to flow. The South-facing side of the roof is about 75% clear of snow now, and even the ice dams have been reduced by at least half. The salt-filled nylons have cut completely through the ice dams, so water can now easily drain. The north side of the house is draining, too, through the gutters, and is about 1/3 clear. Another day in the 40s today, so we should have pretty snow-free roofs by the end of the day.

IT WORKED!