We moved into our current house in 2007, and got our first ice dam that winter thanks to a through-the-wall air conditioning unit. We removed the unit, patched the wall, and didn’t have any more problems. Until this winter, when Massachusetts was pounded with snow. What you see on our roof is actually solid ice – the snow has already been raked/shoveled off. Some of the ice melts, and then we get nice little drips (and even light streams!) in our dining room and playroom – hopefully nowhere else anytime soon! Mike got to spend six hours Saturday and a couple more hours Sunday afternoon chiseling a drainage channel in the ice, and the drips in both places have stopped. So long as we don’t join the ranks of Massachusetts homes with collapsed roofs, we’ll be happy.
Mike and I learned that gutters make ice dams worse (Since water can freeze in them, adding to the weight), so I think our gutters will come off the roof before next winter! Better insulation in the attic would probably help, too, although I think this year’s exceptionally extreme winter (with no thaw days) is the main culprit. I think my kids were a little young for the central science lesson – that heat rising through the roof causes the ice closest to the roof to melt. Then the water gets stuck between the roof and the ice, and eventually goes through the roof out of necessity – unless a certain darling husband chisels out an alternate escape route. Thanks, honey!
Stuck indoors? Maybe your kids would like to make a play-doh play mat. Or maybe they’d prefer free-style art on large sheets of paper? Or playing with felt dress-up sets or geometric shapes on a felt board? If all else fails, I have yet to meet a kid who doesn’t think that decorating a cake with pudding is pretty cool!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
@sunnymama – The roof is doing much better, thanks to all the ice chipping!
Oh dear. Hoping your roof is surviving!
I’d forgotten about your play doh mats!
I’d never heard of an ice dam till this post. That does not sound like a fun thing ever! Hope you guys never get to experience it again!
Waiting for Spring here, and from the looks of your weather, I know you probably are too!
Hope that ice thaws soon! It’s icy here too we have HUGE icicles hanging off the roof! It’s been a crazy winter.
Thanks for the tips of fun crafts to do with the kids!
Whoa, this really has been a hard winter on the East Coast! I hope that your house is not seriously damaged with all the snow and ice. Good for Mike to take all those steps to help the melted snow find a better way out.
Yikes! Thank goodness Mike was able to help stop the water coming in.
We have skylights and the other day, heard an awful noise. I looked out the window to see a huge chunk of ice come crashing down from the roof from the skylight. Luckily there was no one standing there!
When we lived in northern Michigan we noticed there weren’t gutters on any houses. We finally asked and got a quick lesson in ice dams. Hope a thaw is headed your way soon!
How awful for you that the ice closest to your roof melted and forced its way into your house. Having always lived in warm climates, this is something I’ve never considered. I’m very impressed that Mike figured out where to chisel the drainage channels to get the drips to stop.
Here’s hoping you have no more leaks and that the water melts away somewhere it’s needed…
Wow, I didn’t know that. That’s crazy.
Hopefully you get a thaw day soon.
Wow! That sounds scary! And you’re about to get more snow, right??
Praying that your roof stays intact!!!