An Ice Dam's Chance in Hell

Although we lived in Michigan for one year, the winters here have taken some getting used to. I love the snow, since it still has some novelty to it, and it's really not too hard to clear the driveway and get to school. And the cold temperatures don't really bother me at all.

But I've come to loathe ice. And in particular, I've come to loathe ice dams. The icicles hanging off of roofs certainly look beautiful, especially as they catch the sunlight. But what I've learned is that they're a giant warning sign that Mother Nature is doing a number on my roof. Basically, the edge of the roof eave develops a wall of ice that dams water runoff from melting snow. That water has to go somewhere, and it tends to go under the shingles and sometimes through the ceiling.

The first problem we had was last month, when, at about 4:30 a.m. I was awakened to a dripping sound near my head. A quick investigation showed a steady flow of water drops falling inside the frames of both windows in the master BR, and it looked even worse in our second BR. Not a fun way to wake up.

We got someone to come out and clear off the edges of the top front and the back roof eaves. I also went out and purchased a roof rake. The water came back through the ceilings again a week later, so we had some different guys come out and clear the whole roof of ice and snow. I figured if I cleared the eaves right after the snow falls, the ice dams wouldn't form, or at least they wouldn't get too bad. I was wrong.

Today, right before I left for school, I saw more dripping through the window frame and stain on the ceiling. I got completely fed up. I mustered my courage and went up on the roof myself and cleared the whole front part of snow. It was a little scary getting up there, since it's on the 2nd story and it's covered in slick snow, but I got used to it. And I'm happy to report I didn't fall.

The dams had formed, but this time they were farther up the slope of the roof, where the rake can't reach. Dam(n)! So that means that from now on, I'm going to have to go through this rigmarole every time it snows until we get our roof re-shingled (which, thanks to the ice dams, will be sooner rather than later. Much, much sooner). But I'm pleased to know that it's a job I can pull off myself, since we plunked down a few hundred dollars for the pros to do it.

Still, spring cannot come too soon.