Snow guards

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by orthodoc

Ice at the edge of your roof means there's a problem with the insulation. You don't want ice dams there - water backs up into your attic, and they're dangerous for anyone walking under the eaves.

In heavy snow areas we either pitch the roof steeply or shovel it regularly; sometimes both.

At first I was all, like, how does she know that kind of stuff? Then I was all, like, Oh yeah, she grew up in, like, Baffin Bay or something.


Yeah, Zippy, if you plan on getting snowed on a lot down there because of global warming changing the climate and shit, you're gonna need to insulate the crap out of your attic. Remember to vent it too. You could also let it be a "Cold" attic and just insulate the attic floor/ living area ceiling.

Where we are, 1) no one in their right mind has gutters because the snow and ice just rip them off, and 2) Houses that are well insulated or have cold attics have snow piled up on them without icicles.

You might want to invest in some sled dogs though, I bet Ortho can hook you up.

[orthodoc]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

At first I was all, like, how does she know that kind of stuff? Then I was all, like, Oh yeah, she grew up in, like, Baffin Bay or something.

Houses that are well insulated or have cold attics have snow piled up on them without icicles.

You might want to invest in some sled dogs though, I bet Ortho can hook you up.

Baffin Bay close enough. Moosonee was my dog-sled experience, though. But there's more snow farther south - in the Muskoka area it was normal to have 12" fall overnight. Sort of like in upstate New York.

Like foot said, you want the 'deep snow without ice' look on your roof. The deep 'whommpp' sound of the snow sliding and falling is normal; you just don't want it falling on your head. Keep people away from the eaves and if your doors are all threatened, pick one and clear the roof in that area daily (I know, that would be a real pain) or put up baffles to divert the snow away.

[glatt]

This is currently my aunt's house. It's been in our family for a couple hundred years. When I was a kid, it was the best place I ever found for getting huge icicles. If you look closely at this picture taken the other day, there's one there on the front porch that's about 7 feet long.

Clearly it needs some more insulation, but the thing that interests me is that the longest icicles are at the front porch. The space above the front porch is unheated. That whole second story above the front porch, with the three small windows, is unheated attic. And to the right of the windows on the first floor on the actual front porch is an unheated pantry and stairway leading to the attic. So I don't know why it's melting so much. Those windows into the house on the front porch itself go into the heated dining room, but everything around the dining room is unheated.

It's curious to me. I do know it's a very old house with not much insulation, if any. It's really pretty in this picture.

[Beest]

There may be longer icicles below the unheated sectons because the melt water that runs of is only just above freezing so more quickly refreezes when it is exposed to the air. Melt water from sections of the roof above heated rooms, especially if insulation is poor will be warmer and has more chance to run all the way down and drip off the icicle to the ground before it cools down enought o freeze.