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Home Improvement Hell - Ice Dam Recovery...

Bostonian

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So this thread is going to serve as a record for my home improvement woes as a result of the ice and snow this past winter.

With the lack of skiing this past month due to the home issues, I figured I would share with you guys the journey I have undertaken in getting my home fixed. This all started on February 10th, and here we are March 3rd and a wall hasn't been opened up yet.

In the time that's passed, I have been dealing with the Insurance Company, unlicensed contractors (who I kick out of my house frequently), the division of insurance in the state of massachusetts and more.

Finally, I have gotten an estimate to do water mitigation in my house. That price is $5500... this only is to open the walls, and dry things out... Not to restore the house jkust yet.

Anyone who is dealing with this, make sure that you have a contractor who is properly licensed in massachusetts (if you are in mass). It's a nightmare but a processes needed to follow. Maybe just maybe if I am lucky, I will get on the snow Thursday or Saturday...

photos to come later!
 

Puck it

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You know that insurance does not pay to fix the leaking roof from the ice dam. Right? They are only responsible for the damage and sometimes they will require that there is proof the original problem was fixed.
 

billski

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You know that insurance does not pay to fix the leaking roof from the ice dam. Right? They are only responsible for the damage and sometimes they will require that there is proof the original problem was fixed.
You usually can get riders to cover this sort of stuff. For a fee of course.

What I hate is there is not a damned thing you can do about it while it's happening, other than empty five gallons at a time every half hour or so. We did everything everyone advised, snow/ice shield under the shingles, soffit reconstruction, new ventilation, new insulation, new ridge vent and including shoveling the entire roof off. No ice dams this year (a little last year), but huge (1 foot thick) ice dams and icicles that need slicing daily.


How old is your house?
 

hammer

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Who is the best type of contractor to get for preventive work? Looks like we dodged a bullet (may want to have the gutters rechecked to make sure they didn't get damaged from the ice weight), but I'm sure we need to have a few things done in one area of the house.
 

Puck it

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You usually can get riders to cover this sort of stuff. For a fee of course.

What I hate is there is not a damned thing you can do about it while it's happening, other than empty five gallons at a time every half hour or so. We did everything everyone advised, snow/ice shield under the shingles, soffit reconstruction, new ventilation, new insulation, new ridge vent and including shoveling the entire roof off. No ice dams this year (a little last year), but huge (1 foot thick) ice dams and icicles that need slicing daily.


How old is your house?
The bold section makes no sense. You didn't have and you did. The only way to prevent them for sure that I can think of is to spray foam the inside of the roof. Rafters and sheeving. This is keep the whole roof cold with any air leakage from the warm interior. My problem was the ridge vent was covered with snow and this allowed the attic to heat up due to the lack of circulation.
 

hammer

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The bold section makes no sense. You didn't have and you did. The only way to prevent them for sure that I can think of is to spray foam the inside of the roof. Rafters and sheeving. This is keep the whole roof cold with any air leakage from the warm interior. My problem was the ridge vent was covered with snow and this allowed the attic to heat up due to the lack of circulation.

Wonder what can be done for the ridge vent issue.

Don't you need to put baffles of some sort to allow for air flow between the rafters? When I had my attic finished, that's what I did. Maybe that's not needed if you keep the attic unfinished.

Helps some but based on this year not enough...
 

Puck it

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Wonder what can be done for the ridge vent issue.

Don't you need to put baffles of some sort to allow for air flow between the rafters? When I had my attic finished, that's what I did. Maybe that's not needed if you keep the attic unfinished.

Helps some but based on this year not enough...
Yes air flow is key if it is fiber insulation. Foam can be sprayed directly and it prevents air leaks.
 

Savemeasammy

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The bold section makes no sense. You didn't have and you did. The only way to prevent them for sure that I can think of is to spray foam the inside of the roof. Rafters and sheeving. This is keep the whole roof cold with any air leakage from the warm interior. My problem was the ridge vent was covered with snow and this allowed the attic to heat up due to the lack of circulation.

When you apply spray foam directly on the bottom of the roof sheathing (or otherwise have an unvented roof with no airspace between the insulation and sheathing), you have what is known as a "hot roof". You are correct though about the importance of preventing air leaks.


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Savemeasammy

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Wonder what can be done for the ridge vent issue.

Don't you need to put baffles of some sort to allow for air flow between the rafters? When I had my attic finished, that's what I did. Maybe that's not needed if you keep the attic unfinished.

Helps some but based on this year not enough...

IMO and experience, the baffles you refer to are not substantial enough to serve as an adequate air space. The volume of air is small, and the baffles themselves are easily crushed and rendered ineffective.

I sometimes see insulation installed too far into the soffit which also restricts air flow.


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Puck it

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IMO and experience, the baffles you refer to are not substantial enough to serve as an adequate air space. The volume of air is small, and the baffles themselves are easily crushed and rendered ineffective.

I sometimes see insulation installed too far into the soffit which also restricts air flow.


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i am thinking about rigid foam insulation slid between the rafters tightly. I will run that all the way to top of the wall leaving a gap so air can flow. It will act like a longer baffle which I have all ready. It should also stop air leaks from the wall and ceiling.
 

Savemeasammy

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i am thinking about rigid foam insulation slid between the rafters tightly. I will run that all the way to top of the wall leaving a gap so air can flow. It will act like a longer baffle which I have all ready. It should also stop air leaks from the wall and ceiling.

This is a great way to do it. Use something like strapping nailed to the side of the rafter to act as a nailer and an air gap. You can also leave a small gap for spray foam for a tighter install.


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hammer

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IMO and experience, the baffles you refer to are not substantial enough to serve as an adequate air space. The volume of air is small, and the baffles themselves are easily crushed and rendered ineffective.

I sometimes see insulation installed too far into the soffit which also restricts air flow.


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Unfortunately unless I rip out drywall that's what I have...:???:

Attic has kneewalls with insulation behind them so the soffits are clear. Could it help to add foam insulation to the back of the kneewalls as well?
 

Savemeasammy

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Unfortunately unless I rip out drywall that's what I have...:???:

Attic has kneewalls with insulation behind them so the soffits are clear. Could it help to add foam insulation to the back of the kneewalls as well?

Do you have an access panel to get behind the knee wall? I'm guessing that you probably don't, but if you do, I would check to make certain that the baffles extend down below the insulation and are not blocked. Also, as puck it mentioned, make sure that your ridge vent isn't covered with snow (although it shouldn't be since you had your roof shoveled). As for adding additional insulation behind your knee wall, I wouldn't expect to see any significant benefit if it is already insulated. I would check for air leaks though.


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SkiingInABlueDream

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I'll be able to give better a better account on roof heating cables next winter. I had roof wires installed this fall but unfortunately I didnt get the feeder/power lines installed until after the 2nd or 3rd major storm a month ago, by which point we already had ice damns and water running down walls. We had a roof guy clear snow and chisel channels in the worst of the dams. Once the heater system went live it has successfully maintained those channels and melted new tunnels elsewhere, and water stopped entering (AFAIK).

The wires are designed to maintain drainage paths on an initially clear roof, not to keep the eave completely clear and definitely not to melt down existing dams. So that said it'll probably be next winter before I know if my system actually works as expected. Unless I get a complete melt out followed by more heavy snow this season, which seems doubtful but who knows...
 

Cannonball

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I'm considering removing my gutters except where I really need them. They are one of the biggest contributing factors to the whole problem. My parents did this a few years ago and solved all of their ice dam woes. Just need to address water management around the foundation in other ways.
 

Bostonian

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You know that insurance does not pay to fix the leaking roof from the ice dam. Right? They are only responsible for the damage and sometimes they will require that there is proof the original problem was fixed.

So after fighting with our insurance company, they do cover damage to the roof caused by ice and the interior too. They asked for us to clear the roof of any ice damming (which will happen with todays r*in)... And then they are paying for the mitigation and restoration. Where I was running into problems was that they were looking to push unlicensed people to do the demolition necessary to mitigate. I also have a general contractor ready for the restoration and other repairs as a result.


You usually can get riders to cover this sort of stuff. For a fee of course.

What I hate is there is not a damned thing you can do about it while it's happening, other than empty five gallons at a time every half hour or so. We did everything everyone advised, snow/ice shield under the shingles, soffit reconstruction, new ventilation, new insulation, new ridge vent and including shoveling the entire roof off. No ice dams this year (a little last year), but huge (1 foot thick) ice dams and icicles that need slicing daily.


How old is your house?

No rider needed in this case, as it was in our plan. In terms of the next steps, we will be doing some work on the soffits and ice shield. working to get the insurance to cover it as due to the damage sustained by the snow and ice has damaged our roof.

Who is the best type of contractor to get for preventive work? Looks like we dodged a bullet (may want to have the gutters rechecked to make sure they didn't get damaged from the ice weight), but I'm sure we need to have a few things done in one area of the house.
Always go with someone who is local and has a CSL and HIC license. thats your best bet.
 

xwhaler

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I'm considering removing my gutters except where I really need them. They are one of the biggest contributing factors to the whole problem. My parents did this a few years ago and solved all of their ice dam woes. Just need to address water management around the foundation in other ways.
I don't have gutters on my house at all and have never had even a hint of ice dams in the 8 yrs I've been there. The lack of gutters does create some splash up from the water draining off the roof and onto the mulch.
So you may have some extra power washing to do if it bothers you.

It also drains off my roof onto my deck which peels/wears the stain pretty quickly in a vertical line. I consider these 2 things more nuisances I can much more easily correct than ice dams.
 

Puck it

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I don't have gutters on my house at all and have never had even a hint of ice dams in the 8 yrs I've been there. The lack of gutters does create some splash up from the water draining off the roof and onto the mulch.
So you may have some extra power washing to do if it bothers you.

It also drains off my roof onto my deck which peels/wears the stain pretty quickly in a vertical line. I consider these 2 things more nuisances I can much more easily correct than ice dams.

I have no gutters and I get ice but no real ice dams. I have a few icicles coming out of the soffit vent but nothing inside.
 
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