Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Ice dam removal buffalo ny

  1. #1
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Buffalo, New York, United States
    Posts
    64,947

    Ice dam removal buffalo ny

    ICE DAM REMOVAL BUFFALO NY

    Oh dear. I've been busy with the joys of owning a home...

    Since the November storm I think we have developed a leak. Was a little tiny leak but I removed all the snow before it got out of hand.




    Night before I was up on the flat part of our roof at 11:30 pm chopping away 6"+ of solid ice to let the water drain down.



    Big icicles could lead to damaging ice dams


  2. #2
    Member nogods's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    9,330
    two years ago i had my roof replaced. Ridge vents were installed as well as soffit vents. This fall I had the attic sealed and insulated. I've had about 3 foot of snow on my roof and no icicles as of last weekend due to the well ventilated and insulated attic.

    Out of caution I raked all the snow off the first 2 feet of the roof last weekend because I was worried that a slow melt would cause water to build up on the upper part of the roof behind the snow on the lower part, although I don't know if that would in fact happen.

  3. #3
    Member NY The Vampire State's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Not in a Cuomo Tax Free Zone
    Posts
    1,803
    Would you let those guys pound on your roof like that? They're crazy.
    Democrats & Republicans Suck Alike.

  4. #4
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Buffalo, New York, United States
    Posts
    64,947
    I'm gonna upload photos when I have time later. I was surprised at how thick the ice was. Once I made a few channels for the water to flow the roof drained. I was more worried about the weight of the water/ice than the leak.

    I used a large screw driver/hammer to split the ice in to chunks. Being careful not to damage the rubber roof.

  5. #5
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Buffalo, New York, United States
    Posts
    64,947
    This will give you an idea what I was dealing with

    There was a thin layer of water underneath the ice/snow



    I chopped enough ice to give me a spot to stand on. I had to be careful because the rubber roof was slippery and the original owner of the house installed a lightning rod system.
    Hard to see but there is a 9" or so pointy rod at the end of the gutter. One slip and I could hurt myself really bad.



    Quite a bit of the roof had a solid sheet of ice.



    I used a hammer and a large screw driver to basically crack the ice into pieces. I made sure the tip of the screw driver wouldn't pierce the roof.



    Chunk by chunk I slowly broke it up. That was about 11:30 pm by the time I got that far.



    I knock more off the gutter and the standing water was able to flow over the gutter



    I didn't realize how much ice I threw down. There is a pile larger on the side of the house but didn't feel like getting me sneakers wet.




    I worked on this side yesterday before work. I have to get more ice off the roof in that spot so the water doesn't sit where the roofs meet.


  6. #6
    Member FMD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    5,739
    I really hope the base of that ladder is firmly planted!

    It should be noted that this type of work is EXTREMELY dangerous!
    Willful ignorance is the downfall of every major empire in history.

    "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." - Mao, 1938

  7. #7
    Member gorja's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Lancaster, NY
    Posts
    13,150
    I've been so good through the years at timely raking the edge of my roof. This year, I just couldn't keep up with it. It just kept snowing and getting the driveway clear was my priority and I was too pooped to rake afterwards. Then, the next day, it would snow again and the roof didn't get done. Only had enough ice melt to fill one knee high this morning. Hopefully, the stores will get more in.

    Georgia L Schlager

  8. #8
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Buffalo, New York, United States
    Posts
    64,947
    The ladder is pushed into the heavy snow. It is held in place pretty well. Seeing I'm getting older I make sure I don't go out of my way to break a hip or something. I was more worried about slipping and impaling myself on a lightning rod on the other roof. You really have to be careful and think ahead. One large chunk of ice can let loose and hurt you. I think some of the ice chunks seemed heavier compared to the logs you saw me tossing around in the woods.

  9. #9
    Member nogods's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    9,330
    The two-foot area I raked all around my roof is now dry as a bone. I noticed a neighbor's house that looked just like mine before I raked it, so I'm guessing she has a sealed insulated attic and sofitt vents like me. She hasn't raked her roof so it will be interesting to see if she has any problems. i may have wasted my time raking as the insulation and vents might be all that is need to prevent ice dams. Neither my house nor her house has any icicles but many of the similar houses in the neighborhood do have significant icicles and a lot less snow on the roofs.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •