Ice fishing instead of shoveling roof

[perch chacer]

Did anyone make the same mistake I did Saturday.   I knew there was a lot of snow on my dormer roof  but everything looked OK within the house so I went ice fishing.  Early afternoon I got a call from the wife and she said the drywall and insulation had just fell off the ceiling at the top of the 2nd floor stairs and water was dripping all over the carpeted floor.  Need less to say I left the lake to inspect the damage.  The few perch I caught in the morning will undoubtedly cost many many more $$$/lb. then usually.

Perch Chacer

[gil_lunkage]

I roof shoveled today instead of ice fishing and all I could think about was why aren't I fishing...  It was not fun, but the first time I have ever had to do it.
Sorry to hear about your roof.

[EatenByLimestone]

That kind of damage doesn't happen in 1 day.  It's been leaking for a while.  At least you got a little quiet time.   

[greensider]

did mine 2 weeks ago i think i am going to take my gutters off my house that is what the ice damming is from i would rather have the snow melt and run off

[trapper2000]

best  bet  metal roof! 

second  a  roof  rake  and  do the  snow when it's  still  soft

third  the  electric cable  on your  flashing 


when it  warms  and  we  get  rain a lot of  people  are in trouble

[Loso015]

Wednesday will be the tell all of who forgot to shovel. I put off a few trips for roof shoveling already. Better safe then sorry I always say.

[EatenByLimestone]

My gutters cause my issues too.  I'm thinking of painting the inside of the gutters black this summer.  Maybe it'll be enough to melt some ice out of them.

[trapper2000]

eat  maybe  because  i'm  from  the  Oswego  snow belt area  i  don't  understand  but  why  would  you leave  gutters  up in the  winter?   at  least  put a  heat tape in  them .....

[duke14]

shoveled mine last week,didnt think it that bad,till I got up there,drifts were 3 foot deep on the backside,
glad its done,1 less thing to worry about

[eyehi]

Shoveled mine for 4 hours yesterday after fishing in the morning.....glad to have it done before it gets wet and heavy .....taking my nephew out for he night bite shortly 

[builder]

if you have shingles on your roof you need to remove about 5 feet of shingles up the roof and install a material called ice shield or armor guard. this product takes the place of felt and seals the area of normal ice dams. the way it works is that the underside is big time adhesive and holds tite to your sheathing. next anywhere you put a nail through it it seals itself by gripping the nail. I realize the amout of snow you receive up there compared to us but this product was developed for ice dam water infiltration and it works.you can get it at any lumber supply or home depot or lowes. every shingle manufacturer has their own brand but it's all the same. on new construction it's code to install this on roof edges.hope this helps!

[builder]

ice dams are formed from melting snow on your roof making its way to the overhang of your roof. you will always lose a little heat to your roof above your living area. when the water gets to the overhang above your soffit it is cold because of no heatloss below it so it freezs. once you get the ice dam started it will only keep building up till the weather changes. taking your guttersff will not stop ice dams. increase insulation in ceiling to minimize heat loss or heat tape wires on roof edges and in the gutters!

[SSmokinn SS]

I own a landscaping company and we have been shoveling roofs all winter long and clearing out ice buildups. You wouldn't believe how much sitting water is up there on your roof under neath the gutter ice buildup. There is so much snow is just insulates the heat and the melting layer of snow just pools up and it stops at your gutter ice buildup.

We did one house on the south side of Saratoga lake. On the front of the roof, there was maybe 12" of snow. On the back, there was 6ft of snow from all the snow drift from the constant wind off the lake. It was a 2 day job. One day clearing the 2nd story roof and chipping ice for water run off and the 2nd day was clearing all the snow away from the house that we Took off the roof....the snow pile was so high you could walk onto the roof up the mound.


Most of the calls we have had is because they Are having water issues from the ceiling.

[builder]

this is what I mean about ice shield it prevents water from penetrating the roof deck. it seals nail penetrations and where you lap it on itself. down here we only need to use one 3 foot piece on the roof edge. but in heavy snow areas you need to use at least 2 rows. with a 12 inch lap that would protect 5 feet of your roof. you would probably be better off going 3 rows and you'll never have to worry about water penetration again. if you have decent home insurance it should cover damage and most likely funds to replace your roof edge shingles and install ice shield.

[fishfry95]

Just got done on my roof. Didnt realize how much was up there. Ice under the snow too. My plan was to fish today. Git up at 4am snowing and sleeting like crazy roads lokked bad so went back to bed

[trapper2000]

ice dams are formed from melting snow on your roof making its way to the overhang of your roof. you will always lose a little heat to your roof above your living area. when the water gets to the overhang above your soffit it is cold because of no heatloss below it so it freezs. once you get the ice dam started it will only keep building up till the weather changes. taking your guttersff will not stop ice dams. increase insulation in ceiling to minimize heat loss or heat tape wires on roof edges and in the gutters!

taking your  gutters  down won't  stop a  ice dam from forming  but  it  will  stop the  ice  from ripping them off the  side of  your  house when the ice  falls ......

right  now  people that live  in the  snow belt  aren't   shoveling  just to stop  ice dams  from  forming they ate  shoveling  so the roof  doesn't  colaspe   Oswego has gotten  over 140 inches of  snow  this year and  no thaw   put that on  your  roof and  add rain .....a  ice dam  is  the least of  your  worries....good  luck  guys   get  those  roofs  cleaned off but take  your  time  doing it and be  safe

[fish4fun8]

ive been roofing for 25 yrs and with the winter we have it doesn't matter how much ice shield you have on the roof with the cold temps weve been having and no real melt off and the snow piling and piling up its created the worst ice dams ive ever seen ,a lot of damage has been done already but theres going to be more to come without some preventive measures!!!gl all

[darkeyez]

I had that happen once, the next roof had ice shield put on, so far so good.
Also like builder suggested,check with homeowners Insurance, any damage may be covered.

[o2rmk800]

I had to take a day a few weeks ago as my eve in the back started to back up and leak in the bedroom. took me 8 hrs to clean the roof and clean up the ground. not fun.

[greensider]

in winters like this you cant stop ice dams no matter how good your house is built and insulated either take the gutters off which is what i am doing use a heat cable or clean the snow every time it comes down some thing no one ever does is put salt in your gutters just before it snows as for painting them black inside i would paint the outside once the snow is in them the sun will not shine on the inside black paint

[trapper2000]

in winters like this you cant stop ice dams no matter how good your house is built and insulated either take the gutters off which is what i am doing use a heat cable or clean the snow every time it comes down some thing no one ever does is put salt in your gutters just before it snows as for painting them black inside i would paint the outside once the snow is in them the sun will not shine on the inside black paint

exactly  what I  said  .....  growing up in the Oswego  area   I  always  take  gutters  down ...always   snow  rake   and  the  heat  cables  are  a  God send  ... in my opinion nothing  beats a  metal roof

[choo choo]

exactly  what I  said  .....  growing up in the Oswego  area   I  always  take  gutters  down ...always   snow  rake   and  the  heat  cables  are  a  God send  ... in my opinion nothing  beats a  metal roof

  I agree 100% Trapper about the metal roof. I used to have a standard shingle roof, and had problems with ice dams and water issues inside a few times on the north side of the house.. Me and my buds installed the metal roof about 10 years ago, and never had another water issue. I still got some ice dams if I didn't keep up with the roof rake, but completely cured my water leak issues.
 2 years ago I went 1 step further, removed the gutters and added a short 5 foot open porch, the length of the house with a metal roof , to keep water runoff away from the house year round, and a nice cool place to sit and hang out drinkin' in the summer. No more gutters to deal with or water leaks.

[greensider]

we are getting new siding this fall maybe we will get a metal roof after that

[IRISH56]

Been keeping up with roof shoveling ... spent this weekend clearing a frozen water line into the house instead of fishing.  I had an exposed water line a few years ago in a new crawl space that hadn't been insulated properly.  Now everything in the crawlspaces is fine, the mainline into the house from the well was frozen about 25' from the house.  Tells you how cold it's been this year frostline down at least 5'.  We were real lucky we could get to it from the house end and not have to excavate. 25 below the morning it froze.

DAN

[builtright716]

I've been roofing for 15 yrs. I would never put a metal roof on my house unless it was standing seam. The metal roofs u see now, 98% of them are corrugated steel. All the fasteners are exposed to the elements and the rubber gasket that is supposed to seal doesn't work if it is screwed in too tight or left a little loose. The sun will also dry the gasket out in a few yrs and water will get in. The flashings are unreliable and left at the mercy of a bead of sealant. The problems most people experience with an asphalt roof are the result of a poor installation. Most roofing companies suck. They are in it for a quick buck and sell on the cheapest price rather than installing a roof system. They in turn roof over a single layer, skimp out on ice shield, or just simply don't know how to do the job right. Here is a link to a blog post explaining the three important areas to address when installing a lasting roof. http://lockportroofing.blogspot.com/ 

[MeatHunter737]

Some great points to consider builtright....was thinking about metal for my next as well but I'll do my research.

[SSmokinn SS]

Been keeping up with roof shoveling ... spent this weekend clearing a frozen water line into the house instead of fishing.  I had an exposed water line a few years ago in a new crawl space that hadn't been insulated properly.  Now everything in the crawlspaces is fine, the mainline into the house from the well was frozen about 25' from the house.  Tells you how cold it's been this year frostline down at least 5'.  We were real lucky we could get to it from the house end and not have to excavate. 25 below the morning it froze.

DAN

Yup. Frost line is around 5' this season. I have been having a septic issue at my house for nearly a month now. Tons of fun. What it comes down to is out leech field is frozen and the septic isn't draining. Every night I hafto go down in the basement and pull the cleanout plug and drain the septic pipe into a bucket. No other options at this point until the ground thaws. Pretty crappy situation reAlly and from what I have been told by several plumbers this winter, it is a common problem with the frost 5' deep.

[trapper2000]

a properly installed metal roof is  the smartest way to go in snow  country ....no leaks  and snow slides off  ......stop and ask anyone that's had one installed ,they love them

[choo choo]

 If any of my screw washers on the metal roof fail , and a tiny drip gets by them, I still have my original shingle roof underneath to protect my house from inside water damage. Double roof protection right now...
 I could always replace any failed screw washers in the future....would only take a couple of hours, I have a small house.
Maybe for a newly constructed house, proper shingled roof with the new materials and methods is the way to go, but for my house that was due for a new roof, metal was the way to go for cost, labor and it works so good for snow and ice problems.
 
I love the way the snow slides off .

[choo choo]

Yup. Frost line is around 5' this season. I have been having a septic issue at my house for nearly a month now. Tons of fun. What it comes down to is out leech field is frozen and the septic isn't draining. Every night I hafto go down in the basement and pull the cleanout plug and drain the septic pipe into a bucket. No other options at this point until the ground thaws. Pretty crappy situation reAlly and from what I have been told by several plumbers this winter, it is a common problem with the frost 5' deep.

  Bummer SSmokin. I remember back around 1977, just before I started on the railroad, I worked for a plumber in Hancock. Frost line was deep , because not a lot of snow cover in some areas. We got a call about a frozen sewer line for a large family, like 6 kids. We snaked the line from inside the basement, figured about where the freeze up started outside, and we jack hammered and dug around the sewer line, don't remember why, but the boss had us bring the 8 foot section of frozen line back to our shop and thawed it out by the wood stove!! yucchh! (might have been an old  odd type of sewer line) We put it back together the same day, covered the ditch with dirt , hay, plastic sheeting and layers of snow on top. It got them to spring, when they re-dug the ditch and filled it with fresh dirt.
Last winter there were a few IS guy's with frozen sewer lines too...sucks.takes away from fishing time.