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Ice daming cont’d

Ice daming cont’d


   
  #1  
Old 01-12-21, 08:33 AM
Z
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Ice daming cont’d
Link to previous thread. Ice dams

some new photos this year. I’m at a loss as to how to fix this.
I’m wondering again if I should add a small piece of downspout where the bulk of ice is to direct flow from the top section into the gutter below?

would larger gutters and downspouts help?

should I stop using the cables? They run into the almost flat section of the roof as shown in the previous thread.




Should I put a downspout here to collect water from the top section and direct it into the gutter below?



Should I put a downspout here directly where the ice is....to capture runoff from the above section into the gutter below?


 
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  #2  
Old 01-12-21, 08:43 AM
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First off, is it leaking into the attic? If not, quit obsessing over it.

Heat cables don't clear the roof of ice, they simply provide a path for water to drain so that water is not as likely to back up behind the ice and become a problem. So the cables are doing their job. Despite looking like a rats nest.

Unless you plan to scoop snow off your roof every time it snows, I don't think there is a solution. Its a stupidly designed roof for a northern climate.
 
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Old 01-12-21, 10:49 AM
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You also need to understand, ice damns are a result of heat loss.

The snow gets trapped in deep areas, heat from the attic melts the lowest layer of snow, the snow above insulates, it then flows down the shingles to an exposed area, the edge of the shingles and re-freezes.

That then forms a damn that blocks the draining water forcing it up under the shingles and then into the attic.

To fix you need to find where the heat loss is coming from!

 
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Old 01-12-21, 10:56 AM
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The insulation looks good. I think it’s solar melt or perhaps I’m making it worse by melting the flat areas of the roof with the heating cables (not seen in the photos).
 
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Old 01-12-21, 01:02 PM
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Maybe, as XS stated the heat cables create a path, Ive seen them go down the inside of gutters. If your just melting material on the roof and it has no where to go you may be creating a bigger problem!
 
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  #6  
Old 01-12-21, 02:18 PM
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Cable goes down the downspout too
 
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Old 02-20-21, 02:26 PM
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What do you think of me putting a piece of flashing or diverter along the red line area. The blue area freezes over, very thick, and the gutter is full of ice too. The area to the left of the red line gets sun, while the blue area is always in shade. I’m wondering if I could divert the water farther along the left where it won’t refreeze. My issue is solar melting and the quantity of water that comes down that spot from a large roof section above.

any examples of diverters installed as I’m thinking? Materials used? Fasteners?

or maybe a roof tray would work?

 
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Old 02-20-21, 03:52 PM
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Anything you install on the roof with fasteners creates a leak path, not an advisable solution!
 
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Old 02-20-21, 04:31 PM
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As I've said a couple times- my law & real estate office was a former 7-11store that was converted into their regional office.The asphalt shingle roof in front discharges into a flat roofed porch, which caused consistent problems with ice dams. My solution was to set a 50 pound livestock salt block on a patio paver and cover it with a bucket. No more ice damming.

Similarly, when I was doing landscaping and plowing snow, the easy way to de-ice frozen gutters was to toss a full back of large water softener salt pellets up into the snow & ice that accumulate along the eaves. The salt pellets melt through the snow, down to the ice, and the brine trickles down and clears the gutters.
 
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