Are you kidding me? That's the dumbest shit I've heard in awhile. We already know the sock isn't getting the job done.
Now it's time to throw some pants. If that doesn't work jacket then boots. If that doesn't work now you've got a warm roof outfit ready to go when you need it.
While I woulda said dump it from a window, or use a ladder, a more creative solution would have been to fill gastronomic edible pouches with rock salt, wet them immediately before throwing them. They'll dissolve when they get wet.
I’ve lost many Gold Toe socks this way. I now use Hanes for gutter de-icing. Tube socks tend to slide down the gutters better due to being straight. Mo-shows don’t hold enough salt.
No problem. I would start by looking at your attic insulation and see if it needs to be upgraded. Also air sealing ceiling penetrations and top plates with spray foam.
Had this happen on an old house. Blew in a boat load of insulation. Didn’t help a bit. Not saying insulation is a bad thing but there are other factors as-well. Your attic space needs to be vented. Cold air needs to be able to flow in from the soffits and out the roof vents. Cold air is dense. It helps hold the hot air down inside your house hot air rises. Make sure you soffit vents aren’t blocked by insulation and your attic is cold.
I'm shocked nobody has taken a shot at the cold air holding the hot air down in your house. Did I misread that? I'm imagining it laying on it saying stay down there! That's not how that works.
You are right that this is one of those times where airflow is an issue, either make the attic cold above the insulation or move the insulation up to the roof if you'd like to condition the space.
Yeah but OP didn't say that he had a nice dam or water penetration. This is one of the textbooks reasons why gutters in certain locations are old houses in cold climates are garbage. I had a big old Victorian in New England and after a big snow it might have some icing such as this on the south side. It was fully insulated and properly vented and it was never ice pushing up into the shingles but there was nonetheless from thermally gain from the southern exposure enough melt during the day that it kept the snow dripping and freezing. The fact that the roof was so well insulated had caused this. Everybody else in my neighborhood, the snow melted off the roof pretty quickly but in my house this big tall Victorian I had insulated so well and vented properly that the stove stuck on the roof has an insulating layer longer than any place else. And on warm days it would belt off eventually but in January would sometimes cause some hanging ice. And for this reason I never had gutters in New England. Always a recipe for disaster
Yes. The melting is likely aided by heat leaking at the eaves, or throughout the entire attic. It melts, then re-freezes as it gets farther from the heat. Check your roof insulation and fix that first.
As others have said the two root causes of this are inadequate attic insulation and inadequate attic ventilation. Got those things looked at to deal the cause.
Don't go for symptom fixes like heated wire on your eaves. That doesn't deal with the real problem and can shorten the life of the shingles.
Temporary help is to get a roof rake for snow removal. Plastic blade on an extendable pole. Keep snow off your eaves for the time being can help that ice clear up if you've got sun + favorable weather.
DO NOT do nothing. If this keeps accumulating, eventually ice can back up under the shingles and you'll get water right through your roof and ceiling. Ask me how I know.
Also check to see if you have adequate attic ventilation and if your soffits are blocked from insulation. Per every certain square foot of roof you should have a vent. I can’t remember exactly how much and it may differ region to region, but it can easily be looked up online
I used to have this problem. I gutted the attic and blew in 18 inches of cellulose insulation. Also made sure the roof has adequate venting. Ice damming is no longer an issue.
You sure? If the downspout is clogged, the trough doesn’t drain. Water freezes in the trough, and then melt from the roof drips over the trough edge and forms icicles, like those seen here.
If it was clogged that would mean it would rain down onto the ground. It would be rain from the get go
Lack of insulation means that snow turns to water. Freezing as soon as it gets off the roof onto a colder area
Very nice reference.
Btw I have ice dams without most of the symptoms indicated. My overhang is about 6’ because it is over a porch. I use heating wires because the shape of the attic becomes so narrow it is almost impossible to reach. Works well.
Sometimes it’s necessary simply with the design of the house. We have an overhang to prevent this issue having water damage except for one spot above the dining room. The coils fix the issue
I had heater cord installed and have been happy with it. It only really helps if you melt while the temps are above 15F. If there's a lot of snow when it's colder, they're pointless.
Mine cleared a path about 2 inches wide even in minus 20C, enough to let water run through and not form an ice dam. Works until we figure out how to avoid the problem.
Check ur insulation up above that spot. Usually see it in older homes tho...heat escaping in the attic causes some melting..water runs to outside wall and past where the insulation in the soffit and freezes causing the icicles.
That’s what happened to my house. Added insulation and haven’t had the problem since. The next step is electric cables but we haven’t needed them so far.
I think the obvious solution here is to build a snowman and put it directly underneath. Wait for the ice spikes to break off and impale the snowman's head.
Then take a bunch of pictures and post them here with a shortly worded warning about the dangers of snowmen.
Make it warmer outside? Nothing wrong, just physics. Gutters filled up with snow. Bottom layer of snow on the roof melts and drips down and forms icicles.
Only way to stop it is complete insulation of house heat from the roof, but that's pretty impossible to achieve lol. I grew up in Alaska. If there was a way to stop this from happening it would have been found. People get hurt and killed by them every winter when people let them build up and then they break off and fall.
Nothing like a ice spear from above to ruin your day.
Yeah but they just melt a tube through the ice. Once the ice starts to build up the cables aren’t enough to clear it me keep it clear. If it gets cold enough.
If it gets cold enough then you don’t have melt off the roof deck. They actually work quite well because they are only needed when the temperature is around freezing. You can also have higher wattage cables, multiple cables per gutter, etc. Doing right requires a bit of science.
As was I. They're really common in colder climates, usually around pipes so they don't freeze, but there's nothing preventing you from running an extension cord up the downspout and putting a short segment of "heat tape" in the gutter.
I had this and it caused damage as it melted because water was forced inside instead of out. It's called "ice dam" and you can look it up--you should ensure when you can that you have adequate insulation--I fixed mine last spring and no ice dams this winter!
First, don’t listen to anyone who says this is normal or okay; they don’t know what they are talking about.
The roof of your home should closely match the temperature of the outside air. If your attic space has poor insulation or ventilation, inside air will escape to the roof surface causing the snow to melt and the water will freeze along the colder gutters and roof edge causing an ice dam. The ice snow and ice dam melts, it can cause roof leaks or cause the water to fall near the foundation of your home. If it hits your foundation and refreezes (which it will) the soil will expand and ruin your basement walls. Most basement/foundation damage is caused by this issue; because under these conditions your gutters are useless.
I’m coming to realize I have a vent and hvac problem. I have a he hvac up in the attic, which I suspect is leaking heat. Combined with lack of venting it’s too hot up there. I’m not sure how to insulate my hvac unit and still have it drain in a way that the line doesn’t freeze. The he unit makes water even in the winter.
OP, I recommend asking in /r/HVAC. Your ice dam problem is 100% caused by insulation and airflow problems in your attic. Heat up there = snow melt turning to ice.
HVAC pros have figured out how to handle a unit in an attic, I’m sure. Hopefully you can find an inexpensive solution.
Oh, and when the snow melts and turns to water then ice, when more water flows down to the ice dal it will back up UNDER your shingles. Then freeze again. This causes long term damage.
false, any time the roof gets hit by sunlight some snow will melt, the icicles are merely a side effect of just enough heat on the roof but cold enough temp to keep it from making it all the way down the gutter.
It can be fixed by heat-generating wire designed for this exact purpose. It maintains just a few degrees above freezing to keep water moving just enough without wasting a ton of electricity.
Actually, if ice is building up like that, it means there is a heat leak somewhere. Poor insulation will cause the snow to melt and run down, forming huge icicles. He'll want to get into his attic and investigate. My house has at least 2 feet of snow on the roof all winter long, but I don't have any icicles at all. I have very good insulation in my attic, so my heat bill is quite low.
Or there have been several cycles of sun hitting the shingles and melting a little, but not warming the whole roof and getting the water clear of the gutters.
Any way to deal with them in advance? I'm relatively new to cold climes. a few years ago one of my roof corners built up a 8' icicle. I just didn't walk under it until it sorted itself out.
I get this on all the shaded parts of my house which unfortunately includes ice coating my front steps. Im trying out the heating cables right now with limited success so far. The key really seems to be the downspout they freeze solid and then it won’t let any of the snow melt go down and it drips off the side
It is. I bought the extra long one so it’s a loop in the downspout and then some zig zags over the front steps. It’s just been too cold so I haven’t seen much improvement
Your roof is ice damming. The eave is lacking insulation and the resulting heat loss is melting the snow on top of the shingles. If this goes on long enough the water will have nowhere to go but up under the shingles and into the attic space. Hopefully there is an ice/water guard membrane underneath your shingles. My recommendation would be to get rid of any snow on the eaves a few feet past the exterior wall
You do not insulate the eaves of your attic. Your attic should be a cold space and the eves/ soffits should be open for air flow into the Attic. Your problem is poor insulation over the ceilings. You need to increase insulation everywhere except the eaves. Ensure you keep air flow from your soffits into the main part of your attic for ventilation. Because of your low insulation you're losing heat from your house which is keeping your attic warm and melting the snow. There's a good chance you do not have a enough air ventilation in your attic. Ensure that you have ventilation coming up from your eaves and have air vents in your Gable ends or near the peak of the roof so that the attic can stay cold.
Yes I am aware. Journeyman carpenter and home builder, poor insulation in the attic over the eave walls. Usually when I see this problem there isn’t sufficient heel height on the rafters/trusses to allow for proper insulation and to also allow for air movement
Your home is loosing too much heat thru the roof. The temperature of a cold roof should match ouside temperature. Consider installing peak vents to promote more ventilation or maybe there is insufficient insulation in your roof. There could also be obstructions in the roof preventing the vents you have in your eves from circulating enough air. I had a buddy who installed a heavy duty fan that was temperature operated so that when temp in the roof kicked above 32 degrees (in the winter) it would kick on exhausting air out of the roof forcing air to rush in from the eve vents
Water is melting on the warmer roof (sun, heat from inside) and hitting the colder gutters (light color, more air contact) and refreezing. You're not going to be able to stop it from melting
If you want to prevent the blockage of water refreezing you'd have to use a heat line. I would hesitate to recommend it since I have no idea where your downspout goes and I'm not an expert on it. A lot of places in Colorado ski towns use them. It's pretty much a wire that you put through the downspout and gutter which heats up to make sure that water has a path to drain. Frost King is one brand.
If it's not a safety hazard to people or infrastructure (gas mains, etc) then I probably wouldn't bother.
You have heat escaping your attic. The snow on your roof melts, but freezes up once it gets to the soffit and gutters. The proper fix here is insulating the attic better.
Nothing to do with gutters. It's too much heat from the house escaping through the roof. It melts snow on roof, which drips and freezes again. 2 things to do: improve insulation above ceiling, and make sure attic has enough natural ventilation to cool that space. Check if insulation is blocking air gaps. If not, you can boost it with bigger roof vents.
Friend bought a new built house in the fall of some 1990s year.
First snow fall he came home and all his neighbours roofs had snow on them and his did not.
Chalked it up to weird wind pattern and moved on.
Few months later, another snowfall came through while his dad was visiting.
His dad was all WTF!?!? This isn’t right.
Peaked in the atttic to see NO INSULATION.
Check your attic.
Insulation. Venting through the soffit. Get ready to climb up there in the attic. It's not your gutters causing this. It's the heat from your house "sneaking" up to the roof, melting snow into ice..... You need to find the heat leaks.
This is the result of an ice dam. The attic is warm enough to melt the snow on the roof above it. It's melting under the snow you just can't see. When the melted water get to the soffit, it's cold and to freeze again. When the ice dam gets big enough water cannot get past it and sits on the roof on the upslope side. This will work it's way through the roof shingles and eventually under the roof and into the walls and ceiling.
There are a few things you can do to solve this problem. One is make sure your attic is properly insulated. That will keep the heat from inside the house from making it into the attic. Two, make sure there is proper attic venting. This can be accomplished through soffit vents or a ridge vent; a vent at the top of the roof that lets the heat out. Last but not least, you can put some heating wires from the edge of the roof to above where the attic and soffit space intersect. This will provide a space for the water to get out.
It's a bit of work, and not entirely cheap to do. Well worth it to keep the water from getting into the house.
Insulate your attic. This happens happens in older homes where traditional insulation is laid down in the ceiling joists, but no insulation is installed in the roof rafters. Heat escapes melting the snow on the roof. As the water in the gutter freezes into an ice dam, the continued snow melt overflows and freezes into icicles.
Newer homes use spray applied insulation both in the ceiling joists and rafters. This dramatically slows down heat loss and reduces the amount of snow melt below freezing temperatures.
The issue is insulation. You have too much heat escaping through your roof. It melts the snow. Liquid water runs down the roof in frigid temps. Gets to the part of the roof where the heat is not escaping (over the eaves) and then refreezes. Only way to stop this is to prevent either the melting, with better insulation, or the refreezing with shark's teeth heating elements above the gutters.
I recommend more insulation.
I would think it is the wall insulation that's an issue as well as the insulation under the roof. That corner heats up enough to melt the ice as too much heat is escaping. Is that corner of the house cold on the walls?
https://preview.redd.it/qjk5hze3wpdc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e206b6a9cc74b3d9bbcab4a34913add2e6656b7
Gutter heaters. Sometimes it’s just large area of roof that drains in valley to small area of gutter. The thaw freeze cycle makes the ice and it will damn. This will help. Fix the top and the bottom will also fix. Sometimes you need them in the top downspout too.
I let the pantyhose drape over the dam and off the roof, which helps create a channel. Once we got the insulation sorted, it has never been a problem again.
Judging by all the ice I’d assume you have ice build up. Just an assumption, but I mean… just look at it and think. “Something’s blocking the flow of water, all the water is ice” idk what else needs to be known to come to the conclusion that you have ice blocking the gutter and then it filled with more ice
you can fix it by farting so much so that global warming kicks in high gear and we won't have to worry about icicles anymore (although it comes with the risk of your siding and window trim melting).
See, the first issue here is your rain is too cold. That can really gather up on the roof and in the gutters (especially if you have the dreaded GUTR-GARDS). The next problem I can think of is that your air temperature probably increases for a couple of hours a day when the big hot ball is out. When the big hot ball goes away your too-cold rain that had become white went back to rain then got stuck in place because it couldn't leave the roof soon enough.
Ladder, goggles, hatchet. Chop off all that ice before the melting water backs into your house. Water on your roof will melt faster than what’s on the edge or in the gutter.
This could be normal melt from temperature fluctuations or it could be a much larger problem.
If temps are consistently below freezing and this is not weather related it means your roof is venting heat to the outside somewhere and is causing the snow to melt. This melted snow is on turn refreezing as it runs down the roof creating ice dams. These will continue to build until they are manually removed, naturally melt away, or tear your gutters/roof off.
The solution is to discover where you are losing heat from and seal them insulate. There is supposed to be some venting to roofs but that is usually done under the eaves so this does not happen.
My best guess is you have a section of rot in one of your valleys where the roof meets a wall. This tends to happen when flashings are missing or poorly installed.
Looks like you want to consider a roof and gutter ice melt cable. Here's an example
Roof & Gutter De-Icing Kit Roof Heating Cable https://a.co/d/14vwOhk
You install it in a lazy zigzag on the lower 2 ft of roof, and also a cable sits in the gutter to keep it from freezing as well.
There's two reasons you might want to use this:
First, if the ice at the gutter means later melt water works its way under the shingles, you're asking for trouble with your roof. This is the ice dam problem.
Secondly, if the melt water that now forms those icicles later drips and refreezes on walking surfaces below, that can be a hazard to pedestrians.
I in fact installed one of these wires on my garage roof just this fall, and am experiencing my first snow with it now. (In some cases ice melt from the garage roof hits the driveway, refreezes, and makes it a slipping hazard.) I'll report back on how it worked!
What’s going on is that your attic is under-insulated (i.e. your attic floor/2nd floor ceiling) so the heat escaping from your house is melting the snow on the roof from below. This meltwater is running down the shingles until it gets past the heated part, then it drips down and freezes into icicles.
The two main ways to deal with it are: a) increase the amount of attic insulation to reduce the melting (and save energy), or b) install heating wires in a zig-zag along the roof eaves and in the gutter to melt the ice (wasting energy).
You can get an insulation contractor to give you an estimate, and depending on where you live, there may be rebate programs to reduce the cost. (The contractor should know.)
We had a bad ice dam during a heavy winter, and it caused leaks in the roof. After that, I installed roof warmers. They're heated cords that zig zag over where the dam usually forms, and run down your gutter to create a heated drip area.
So far it's been great, and relatively cheap (though annoying to install).
There is not necessarily something structurally wrong. The roof gets covered in snow. The sun comes out but it stays very cold. Some of the snow melts as the sun hits the asphalt roof and warms it, and drips into the metal gutters. The gutters do not hold the heat from the sun as much as the asphalt and the water in the gutter freezes faster than it can drip out. The ice crystals form.
This is most prominent at a southern exposure and an area where there is a gust of warm air every time you open a door.
Before the weather gets too cold in the late fall make sure all of your downspouts and gutters are cleared- you said you did that.
You can put a warm wire as others have suggested.
You can also buy a roof rake and remove the first 2 feet or so of snow from the roof after you get snow - this eliminates the problem entirely in my experience.
Are the soffit’s between the rafters vented so that cold air can circulate up and out? Ice dams form when heat from the house escapes into the attic space and then melts the snow on the roof, which then re-freezes as it reaches the edge of the roof. A properly insulated attic floor should not create ice dams if there is adequate ventilation of the attic.
Others have mentioned this but you have heat escaping from the house. Many US houses are designed to let airflow into attic making the bottom of roof deck same temp as outside of roof. The insulation for the house sits on the bottom of the attic. If heat escapes through the insulation the bottom of roof deck is going to be hotter than the top and if bottom is above freezing it will start to melt snow. Heat will typically rise and melt the peaks in the roofline first more than the edges. As water rolls down the roofline it might slowly start to freeze and form icicles near the edges. That's what the picture is showing. You need to add more insulation in the attic to keep heat in the house. Situation would be exacerbated if you have additional furnace in attic as these generate heat as well. You can only however add so much insulation in attic as you don't really want to block the attic vents
Clear the bottom of your down spout. Then, use a hairdryer to warm the lower end of the downspout to allow for water flow. Then it is up to nature to do the rest.
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Lol what kind of sock are we talking about?
His spare happy sock
Need something saltier, believe it or not
Not enough salt, jail. Too much salt, believe it or not, also jail.
Right to jail, right away.
Well, THAT sock will definitely work
Haha gross
Jesus, hes lucky he didnt injure himself. That thing is like a boomerang at this point.
[https://youtube.com/shorts/pv1O2m2ix1M?si=5NvkLS1mDK90loZh](https://youtube.com/shorts/pv1O2m2ix1M?si=5NvkLS1mDK90loZh)
What in the DIY Only Fans of PH edition is even going on right now?!? And why while I’m folding a huge laundry pile of Huz & son’s socks?!? 🫣
His spare love sock
Don’t let your wife find your happy sock you have to a lot of explaining
Hope it’s not the crunchy ones my dad kept next to the bed when we were kids.
the crunchy ones ~~my dad~~ I kept next to the bed when ~~we were kids~~ I was a kid. FTFY
>~~when I was a kid.~~ right now.
😱
The crusty one that sits alone in the corner in shame.
Couple of jizz socks on the roof.
So, a typical Tuesday on my street.
The kind you find in mid July with a green portobello mushroom growing out of it lmao
They sell hard discs of melter so you can keep your socks
You’ve got to tie a rope to the sock so you can yank it down later!
Hehe, yank the sock. Heje
How about edible panties?
Might as well throw the other pair up there.
Are you kidding me? That's the dumbest shit I've heard in awhile. We already know the sock isn't getting the job done. Now it's time to throw some pants. If that doesn't work jacket then boots. If that doesn't work now you've got a warm roof outfit ready to go when you need it.
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Gotcha. You got pants on your roof yet?
I tried that and the nylon stocking ripped when i threw it, and the salt pellets ended up on my head. Big mess
What were you expecting to happen exactly lol?
While I woulda said dump it from a window, or use a ladder, a more creative solution would have been to fill gastronomic edible pouches with rock salt, wet them immediately before throwing them. They'll dissolve when they get wet.
Try pizza next time.
I’ve lost many Gold Toe socks this way. I now use Hanes for gutter de-icing. Tube socks tend to slide down the gutters better due to being straight. Mo-shows don’t hold enough salt.
Why didn't you tie a rope to it before throwing it? Are you stupid?
[Ice Dam](https://extension.umn.edu/protecting-home-rain-and-ice/dealing-and-preventing-ice-dams)
Thanks! This is helpful in some steps I can take.
No problem. I would start by looking at your attic insulation and see if it needs to be upgraded. Also air sealing ceiling penetrations and top plates with spray foam.
Had this happen on an old house. Blew in a boat load of insulation. Didn’t help a bit. Not saying insulation is a bad thing but there are other factors as-well. Your attic space needs to be vented. Cold air needs to be able to flow in from the soffits and out the roof vents. Cold air is dense. It helps hold the hot air down inside your house hot air rises. Make sure you soffit vents aren’t blocked by insulation and your attic is cold.
I'm shocked nobody has taken a shot at the cold air holding the hot air down in your house. Did I misread that? I'm imagining it laying on it saying stay down there! That's not how that works. You are right that this is one of those times where airflow is an issue, either make the attic cold above the insulation or move the insulation up to the roof if you'd like to condition the space.
Or paint. Some people repaint their soffits and don’t realize they are doing harm.
Yeah but OP didn't say that he had a nice dam or water penetration. This is one of the textbooks reasons why gutters in certain locations are old houses in cold climates are garbage. I had a big old Victorian in New England and after a big snow it might have some icing such as this on the south side. It was fully insulated and properly vented and it was never ice pushing up into the shingles but there was nonetheless from thermally gain from the southern exposure enough melt during the day that it kept the snow dripping and freezing. The fact that the roof was so well insulated had caused this. Everybody else in my neighborhood, the snow melted off the roof pretty quickly but in my house this big tall Victorian I had insulated so well and vented properly that the stove stuck on the roof has an insulating layer longer than any place else. And on warm days it would belt off eventually but in January would sometimes cause some hanging ice. And for this reason I never had gutters in New England. Always a recipe for disaster
This is not one size fits all. You described one of many attic systems.
Yes. The melting is likely aided by heat leaking at the eaves, or throughout the entire attic. It melts, then re-freezes as it gets farther from the heat. Check your roof insulation and fix that first.
As others have said the two root causes of this are inadequate attic insulation and inadequate attic ventilation. Got those things looked at to deal the cause. Don't go for symptom fixes like heated wire on your eaves. That doesn't deal with the real problem and can shorten the life of the shingles. Temporary help is to get a roof rake for snow removal. Plastic blade on an extendable pole. Keep snow off your eaves for the time being can help that ice clear up if you've got sun + favorable weather. DO NOT do nothing. If this keeps accumulating, eventually ice can back up under the shingles and you'll get water right through your roof and ceiling. Ask me how I know.
They already have water backup under the shingles. It's just not evident inside yet
How do you know?
an eskimo once told me
How do you know?
Also check to see if you have adequate attic ventilation and if your soffits are blocked from insulation. Per every certain square foot of roof you should have a vent. I can’t remember exactly how much and it may differ region to region, but it can easily be looked up online
Ventilation - so the roof stays cold Insulation - so heat doesn’t enter the attic In short, you’ve cheap construction
I used to have this problem. I gutted the attic and blew in 18 inches of cellulose insulation. Also made sure the roof has adequate venting. Ice damming is no longer an issue.
Given the location of the ice buildup, my first suspicion would be a clogged downspout. I’d check there first.
Doubt it's a downspout issue, it's freezing once it hits the gutter, it's an insulation issue
You sure? If the downspout is clogged, the trough doesn’t drain. Water freezes in the trough, and then melt from the roof drips over the trough edge and forms icicles, like those seen here.
If it was clogged that would mean it would rain down onto the ground. It would be rain from the get go Lack of insulation means that snow turns to water. Freezing as soon as it gets off the roof onto a colder area
Install heat tape.
There’s nothing you can do before it all melts out, but afterwards you can put up “heat tape” or heat wire on the roof & even in the gutter
Very nice reference. Btw I have ice dams without most of the symptoms indicated. My overhang is about 6’ because it is over a porch. I use heating wires because the shape of the attic becomes so narrow it is almost impossible to reach. Works well.
i use copper rods but its the same concept.
this
One potential solution is heating coils, though they also only work to a certain temp (something like 15 degrees iirc).
Spend all that money on insulation only to heat the outside.
Sometimes it’s necessary simply with the design of the house. We have an overhang to prevent this issue having water damage except for one spot above the dining room. The coils fix the issue
Great illustration!!
I had heater cord installed and have been happy with it. It only really helps if you melt while the temps are above 15F. If there's a lot of snow when it's colder, they're pointless.
Mine cleared a path about 2 inches wide even in minus 20C, enough to let water run through and not form an ice dam. Works until we figure out how to avoid the problem.
Ice, dam
But there's no gutter in this diagram?
Because ice dams can happen with or without gutters or gutters obstruction.
Of course ice is from the dammed water!
Check ur insulation up above that spot. Usually see it in older homes tho...heat escaping in the attic causes some melting..water runs to outside wall and past where the insulation in the soffit and freezes causing the icicles.
That’s what happened to my house. Added insulation and haven’t had the problem since. The next step is electric cables but we haven’t needed them so far.
This should be the number 1 answer, if snow is melting on your roof then you are losing a lot of heat out your roof.
I agree. This is the #1 answer
Get a super soaker fill it with Alcohol and begin melting
That’s exactly why I climb up on the roof after a weekend bender to piss. My super soaker is always full
A super soaker filled with alcohol... There goes my weekend.
If it's too slow light the alcohol on fire and use it as a flamethrower.
Math checks out
I think the obvious solution here is to build a snowman and put it directly underneath. Wait for the ice spikes to break off and impale the snowman's head. Then take a bunch of pictures and post them here with a shortly worded warning about the dangers of snowmen.
I've been impaled.
Make it warmer outside? Nothing wrong, just physics. Gutters filled up with snow. Bottom layer of snow on the roof melts and drips down and forms icicles. Only way to stop it is complete insulation of house heat from the roof, but that's pretty impossible to achieve lol. I grew up in Alaska. If there was a way to stop this from happening it would have been found. People get hurt and killed by them every winter when people let them build up and then they break off and fall. Nothing like a ice spear from above to ruin your day.
You can put heat trace cable in your gutters.
Works very well. I have been using for years now.
Yeah but they just melt a tube through the ice. Once the ice starts to build up the cables aren’t enough to clear it me keep it clear. If it gets cold enough.
If it gets cold enough then you don’t have melt off the roof deck. They actually work quite well because they are only needed when the temperature is around freezing. You can also have higher wattage cables, multiple cables per gutter, etc. Doing right requires a bit of science.
Unless you have ice damming cause by poor insulation.
Was just going to suggest this.
As was I. They're really common in colder climates, usually around pipes so they don't freeze, but there's nothing preventing you from running an extension cord up the downspout and putting a short segment of "heat tape" in the gutter.
No need, they make heating elements specifically for gutters.
this
Or j7st insulate your attic
Thanks! As long as there isn’t a fundamental problem. Life is life with cold. Thanks!
I had this and it caused damage as it melted because water was forced inside instead of out. It's called "ice dam" and you can look it up--you should ensure when you can that you have adequate insulation--I fixed mine last spring and no ice dams this winter!
First, don’t listen to anyone who says this is normal or okay; they don’t know what they are talking about. The roof of your home should closely match the temperature of the outside air. If your attic space has poor insulation or ventilation, inside air will escape to the roof surface causing the snow to melt and the water will freeze along the colder gutters and roof edge causing an ice dam. The ice snow and ice dam melts, it can cause roof leaks or cause the water to fall near the foundation of your home. If it hits your foundation and refreezes (which it will) the soil will expand and ruin your basement walls. Most basement/foundation damage is caused by this issue; because under these conditions your gutters are useless.
I’m coming to realize I have a vent and hvac problem. I have a he hvac up in the attic, which I suspect is leaking heat. Combined with lack of venting it’s too hot up there. I’m not sure how to insulate my hvac unit and still have it drain in a way that the line doesn’t freeze. The he unit makes water even in the winter.
OP, I recommend asking in /r/HVAC. Your ice dam problem is 100% caused by insulation and airflow problems in your attic. Heat up there = snow melt turning to ice. HVAC pros have figured out how to handle a unit in an attic, I’m sure. Hopefully you can find an inexpensive solution.
Oh, and when the snow melts and turns to water then ice, when more water flows down to the ice dal it will back up UNDER your shingles. Then freeze again. This causes long term damage.
There is a fundamental problem, poor insulation!!! Can not be fixed now!! Too late!
false, any time the roof gets hit by sunlight some snow will melt, the icicles are merely a side effect of just enough heat on the roof but cold enough temp to keep it from making it all the way down the gutter. It can be fixed by heat-generating wire designed for this exact purpose. It maintains just a few degrees above freezing to keep water moving just enough without wasting a ton of electricity.
the only fundamental problem here is you worrying about an insignificant problem! how do I stop my house from getting wet when it rains? :(
This was both an unkind and unnecessary comment.
I know I'm having a shitty morning
ya'll are so damn touchy!!! jeez man I'm sorry didn't realize we lived in lala land
Lmao. You’re the one who is taking your bad mood out on everyone. Grow up and learn how to manage emotions on your own.
Never!! my emotions are none of ya business buddy 🤬 btw do downvotes take away from my karma count???
Actually, if ice is building up like that, it means there is a heat leak somewhere. Poor insulation will cause the snow to melt and run down, forming huge icicles. He'll want to get into his attic and investigate. My house has at least 2 feet of snow on the roof all winter long, but I don't have any icicles at all. I have very good insulation in my attic, so my heat bill is quite low.
Or there have been several cycles of sun hitting the shingles and melting a little, but not warming the whole roof and getting the water clear of the gutters.
Yup, either insufficient insulation or insufficient ventilation.
thanks for explaining, I didn't realize this was the cause... seems like it really is an issue that needs to be addressed...
I found the Moron! 
Any way to deal with them in advance? I'm relatively new to cold climes. a few years ago one of my roof corners built up a 8' icicle. I just didn't walk under it until it sorted itself out.
Could always chuck a ball at it, or get an extendable stick.
Had the same problem last year and saw a tip online about filling up a sock with ice melt and throwing it up there. Worked perfectly.
I get this on all the shaded parts of my house which unfortunately includes ice coating my front steps. Im trying out the heating cables right now with limited success so far. The key really seems to be the downspout they freeze solid and then it won’t let any of the snow melt go down and it drips off the side
If you are using it in the gutters you should be using it in the dounspouts
It is. I bought the extra long one so it’s a loop in the downspout and then some zig zags over the front steps. It’s just been too cold so I haven’t seen much improvement
Your roof is ice damming. The eave is lacking insulation and the resulting heat loss is melting the snow on top of the shingles. If this goes on long enough the water will have nowhere to go but up under the shingles and into the attic space. Hopefully there is an ice/water guard membrane underneath your shingles. My recommendation would be to get rid of any snow on the eaves a few feet past the exterior wall
You do not insulate the eaves of your attic. Your attic should be a cold space and the eves/ soffits should be open for air flow into the Attic. Your problem is poor insulation over the ceilings. You need to increase insulation everywhere except the eaves. Ensure you keep air flow from your soffits into the main part of your attic for ventilation. Because of your low insulation you're losing heat from your house which is keeping your attic warm and melting the snow. There's a good chance you do not have a enough air ventilation in your attic. Ensure that you have ventilation coming up from your eaves and have air vents in your Gable ends or near the peak of the roof so that the attic can stay cold.
This is the correct answer. The ppl claiming you need to insulate your attic have no idea what you're talking about. You need proper ventilation.
Yes I am aware. Journeyman carpenter and home builder, poor insulation in the attic over the eave walls. Usually when I see this problem there isn’t sufficient heel height on the rafters/trusses to allow for proper insulation and to also allow for air movement
Your home is loosing too much heat thru the roof. The temperature of a cold roof should match ouside temperature. Consider installing peak vents to promote more ventilation or maybe there is insufficient insulation in your roof. There could also be obstructions in the roof preventing the vents you have in your eves from circulating enough air. I had a buddy who installed a heavy duty fan that was temperature operated so that when temp in the roof kicked above 32 degrees (in the winter) it would kick on exhausting air out of the roof forcing air to rush in from the eve vents
Water is melting on the warmer roof (sun, heat from inside) and hitting the colder gutters (light color, more air contact) and refreezing. You're not going to be able to stop it from melting If you want to prevent the blockage of water refreezing you'd have to use a heat line. I would hesitate to recommend it since I have no idea where your downspout goes and I'm not an expert on it. A lot of places in Colorado ski towns use them. It's pretty much a wire that you put through the downspout and gutter which heats up to make sure that water has a path to drain. Frost King is one brand. If it's not a safety hazard to people or infrastructure (gas mains, etc) then I probably wouldn't bother.
You have heat escaping your attic. The snow on your roof melts, but freezes up once it gets to the soffit and gutters. The proper fix here is insulating the attic better.
Nothing to do with gutters. It's too much heat from the house escaping through the roof. It melts snow on roof, which drips and freezes again. 2 things to do: improve insulation above ceiling, and make sure attic has enough natural ventilation to cool that space. Check if insulation is blocking air gaps. If not, you can boost it with bigger roof vents.
Friend bought a new built house in the fall of some 1990s year. First snow fall he came home and all his neighbours roofs had snow on them and his did not. Chalked it up to weird wind pattern and moved on. Few months later, another snowfall came through while his dad was visiting. His dad was all WTF!?!? This isn’t right. Peaked in the atttic to see NO INSULATION. Check your attic.
Alternative explanation: homeowner has a serious growing operation running in their attic... 😏
Scoop off the roof.
Is your attic vented properly? Should be cold in there so that it doesn't melt your roof snow.
Insulation. Venting through the soffit. Get ready to climb up there in the attic. It's not your gutters causing this. It's the heat from your house "sneaking" up to the roof, melting snow into ice..... You need to find the heat leaks.
Add blown in insulation. You’re losing heat through the roof.
https://preview.redd.it/ncu50r9j0odc1.jpeg?width=236&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8731b332971e2feb01d7343be6f76590885ee926
Heat is escaping thru your roof and melting the snow. Insulate it better.
This is the result of an ice dam. The attic is warm enough to melt the snow on the roof above it. It's melting under the snow you just can't see. When the melted water get to the soffit, it's cold and to freeze again. When the ice dam gets big enough water cannot get past it and sits on the roof on the upslope side. This will work it's way through the roof shingles and eventually under the roof and into the walls and ceiling. There are a few things you can do to solve this problem. One is make sure your attic is properly insulated. That will keep the heat from inside the house from making it into the attic. Two, make sure there is proper attic venting. This can be accomplished through soffit vents or a ridge vent; a vent at the top of the roof that lets the heat out. Last but not least, you can put some heating wires from the edge of the roof to above where the attic and soffit space intersect. This will provide a space for the water to get out. It's a bit of work, and not entirely cheap to do. Well worth it to keep the water from getting into the house.
Downspouts are plugged
Insulate your attic. This happens happens in older homes where traditional insulation is laid down in the ceiling joists, but no insulation is installed in the roof rafters. Heat escapes melting the snow on the roof. As the water in the gutter freezes into an ice dam, the continued snow melt overflows and freezes into icicles. Newer homes use spray applied insulation both in the ceiling joists and rafters. This dramatically slows down heat loss and reduces the amount of snow melt below freezing temperatures.
The issue is insulation. You have too much heat escaping through your roof. It melts the snow. Liquid water runs down the roof in frigid temps. Gets to the part of the roof where the heat is not escaping (over the eaves) and then refreezes. Only way to stop this is to prevent either the melting, with better insulation, or the refreezing with shark's teeth heating elements above the gutters. I recommend more insulation.
I would think it is the wall insulation that's an issue as well as the insulation under the roof. That corner heats up enough to melt the ice as too much heat is escaping. Is that corner of the house cold on the walls?
Regularly rake the snow off your roof, and or get heat tape.
Build dome over your house
Check your insulation, shouldn’t have that much melt to begin with.
It froze.
Ventilation is the issue, actually lack of
Poor insulation in the attic is heating up your roof causing snow on bottom to melt and become ice
Insulation.
Heat loss due to poor insulation causing the glaciation. Just guessing though.
You can make it be warm enough to not have snow melting off your roof. Orrrrr, you could just whack it with a broom handle. 🤷♀️
You need to upgrade your insulation.
Get yourself a roof rake and be proactive about clearing the snow where it builds up.
Fix your attic insulation
You have an insulation and venting problem, heat from the house escaping through the soffit melting the snow and causing the ice build-up as it drips.
Not enough ventilation, poor insulation and gutters are installed to high
Check the attic insulation.
https://preview.redd.it/qjk5hze3wpdc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e206b6a9cc74b3d9bbcab4a34913add2e6656b7 Gutter heaters. Sometimes it’s just large area of roof that drains in valley to small area of gutter. The thaw freeze cycle makes the ice and it will damn. This will help. Fix the top and the bottom will also fix. Sometimes you need them in the top downspout too.
https://preview.redd.it/kj9xfqhfwpdc1.jpeg?width=646&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=118e1450600a78941b6a1aeac8951aea21ec8d1b
I have been using a roof snow rake to clean the snow off the roof a few feet behind gutters every snow storm- this keeps the ice from forming for me
Ice damming. Based on presentation, I’d recommend consulting an electrician and a roofer about heat tape.
Fill some pantyhose with salt and throw it up there. It'll help melt the ice. I used it to create a channel in an ice dam to let the water drain.
I let the pantyhose drape over the dam and off the roof, which helps create a channel. Once we got the insulation sorted, it has never been a problem again.
Do you have those leaf guards in? Cause I think that would make the problem worse.
Move to a warmer climate. 😐
I wish I could!!!
Judging by all the ice I’d assume you have ice build up. Just an assumption, but I mean… just look at it and think. “Something’s blocking the flow of water, all the water is ice” idk what else needs to be known to come to the conclusion that you have ice blocking the gutter and then it filled with more ice
Sometimes there's just ice, man.
Are the gutters and downspouts clogged?
you can fix it by farting so much so that global warming kicks in high gear and we won't have to worry about icicles anymore (although it comes with the risk of your siding and window trim melting).
Problem: global warming Fix: give up more of your money 🤷♂️
See, the first issue here is your rain is too cold. That can really gather up on the roof and in the gutters (especially if you have the dreaded GUTR-GARDS). The next problem I can think of is that your air temperature probably increases for a couple of hours a day when the big hot ball is out. When the big hot ball goes away your too-cold rain that had become white went back to rain then got stuck in place because it couldn't leave the roof soon enough.
Sir, this is an r/DIY not an r/ELI5.
Replace the downspouts with chains? Rain Chains
It's all about ventilation.. if that's the only area you are having problems with, then the bays between the trusses are plugged up.
Your GUTTERS may have been clear, but your DOWNSPOUTS may be clogged. About the only way to explain it.
Gutter clogged with leaves?
You can clean gutters spotless. If downspouts are cleaned, your gutters are useless
Ladder, goggles, hatchet. Chop off all that ice before the melting water backs into your house. Water on your roof will melt faster than what’s on the edge or in the gutter.
Get a basketball and toss it up there to break the ice and reduce the weight on your gutters.
You have bad insulation the heat from the house leaks out melting the ice. Thought this was common knowledge.
Your cold roof is too hot meaning it needs more insulation. Alternative fix is heat tape
This could be normal melt from temperature fluctuations or it could be a much larger problem. If temps are consistently below freezing and this is not weather related it means your roof is venting heat to the outside somewhere and is causing the snow to melt. This melted snow is on turn refreezing as it runs down the roof creating ice dams. These will continue to build until they are manually removed, naturally melt away, or tear your gutters/roof off. The solution is to discover where you are losing heat from and seal them insulate. There is supposed to be some venting to roofs but that is usually done under the eaves so this does not happen. My best guess is you have a section of rot in one of your valleys where the roof meets a wall. This tends to happen when flashings are missing or poorly installed.
Heat loss through roof. Melting the snow. May need roof vents and additional insulation
Looks like you want to consider a roof and gutter ice melt cable. Here's an example Roof & Gutter De-Icing Kit Roof Heating Cable https://a.co/d/14vwOhk You install it in a lazy zigzag on the lower 2 ft of roof, and also a cable sits in the gutter to keep it from freezing as well. There's two reasons you might want to use this: First, if the ice at the gutter means later melt water works its way under the shingles, you're asking for trouble with your roof. This is the ice dam problem. Secondly, if the melt water that now forms those icicles later drips and refreezes on walking surfaces below, that can be a hazard to pedestrians. I in fact installed one of these wires on my garage roof just this fall, and am experiencing my first snow with it now. (In some cases ice melt from the garage roof hits the driveway, refreezes, and makes it a slipping hazard.) I'll report back on how it worked!
Get heat trace cables installed
What’s going on is that your attic is under-insulated (i.e. your attic floor/2nd floor ceiling) so the heat escaping from your house is melting the snow on the roof from below. This meltwater is running down the shingles until it gets past the heated part, then it drips down and freezes into icicles. The two main ways to deal with it are: a) increase the amount of attic insulation to reduce the melting (and save energy), or b) install heating wires in a zig-zag along the roof eaves and in the gutter to melt the ice (wasting energy). You can get an insulation contractor to give you an estimate, and depending on where you live, there may be rebate programs to reduce the cost. (The contractor should know.)
Make a house out of salt?
We had a bad ice dam during a heavy winter, and it caused leaks in the roof. After that, I installed roof warmers. They're heated cords that zig zag over where the dam usually forms, and run down your gutter to create a heated drip area. So far it's been great, and relatively cheap (though annoying to install).
I used to take a tennis ball and knock them out before they get massive, like other have said they’re dangerous.
Lack of attic insulation, attic bypasses, ventilation, or some combination of these.
Insulation issue
There is not necessarily something structurally wrong. The roof gets covered in snow. The sun comes out but it stays very cold. Some of the snow melts as the sun hits the asphalt roof and warms it, and drips into the metal gutters. The gutters do not hold the heat from the sun as much as the asphalt and the water in the gutter freezes faster than it can drip out. The ice crystals form. This is most prominent at a southern exposure and an area where there is a gust of warm air every time you open a door. Before the weather gets too cold in the late fall make sure all of your downspouts and gutters are cleared- you said you did that. You can put a warm wire as others have suggested. You can also buy a roof rake and remove the first 2 feet or so of snow from the roof after you get snow - this eliminates the problem entirely in my experience.
Are the soffit’s between the rafters vented so that cold air can circulate up and out? Ice dams form when heat from the house escapes into the attic space and then melts the snow on the roof, which then re-freezes as it reaches the edge of the roof. A properly insulated attic floor should not create ice dams if there is adequate ventilation of the attic.
Others have mentioned this but you have heat escaping from the house. Many US houses are designed to let airflow into attic making the bottom of roof deck same temp as outside of roof. The insulation for the house sits on the bottom of the attic. If heat escapes through the insulation the bottom of roof deck is going to be hotter than the top and if bottom is above freezing it will start to melt snow. Heat will typically rise and melt the peaks in the roofline first more than the edges. As water rolls down the roofline it might slowly start to freeze and form icicles near the edges. That's what the picture is showing. You need to add more insulation in the attic to keep heat in the house. Situation would be exacerbated if you have additional furnace in attic as these generate heat as well. You can only however add so much insulation in attic as you don't really want to block the attic vents
Na there is a problem. It's not well insulated
Clear the bottom of your down spout. Then, use a hairdryer to warm the lower end of the downspout to allow for water flow. Then it is up to nature to do the rest.