Vent your roof properly and use don't use wadded up timbit wrappers for insulation in your igloo.

>>944612
I would say toss up more salt, but make sure it's properly temperature rated (regular rock salt isn't doing shit if you're sitting at like -15 F, for instance)...but I don't know how that shit reacts with stuff like wood/whatever kind of roofing you have.

>>944616
I just bought this house about 14 months ago, so I'm still learning its quirks. Though, I never had a problem last winter.

>>944618
I used some salt that is magnesium chloride, which is apparently better for asphalt shingles as opposed to rock salt.

It's also around 15F

>>944620
How long ago did you do this because salt takes time to work?

>>944621
Maybe 20 minutes ago. I know it won't be done yet. I was just wondering if anyone knew of a really good method for getting it off.

>>944622

Salt is fine, but to address the root cause: poor venting and/or insulation. Get it fixed before your new house becomes a shithole

>>944624
Yeah, that's the plan. On inspection, there wasn't anything wrong. So I'll have to crawl back up there and see what's going on. For now, just trying to get rid of the ice dams.

>>944625
If you want it to melt faster you can make some holes in the ice with an ice pick or something and pour salt in the holes.

Seems like it might be too much effort though.

>>944616
>American construction
>proper

M8 I work with some of the largest contractors in the state on multi-million dollar projects. Builders are the shiftiest, laziest cunts who will fuck you over a dollar. If a corner can be cut, it will be. Unionization makes it even worse. The guy hanging the drywall doesn't give a tenth of a shit if he sees something so horribly wrong with the electric or the plumbing that even an illiterate Mexican could point it out. "Not my job."

If you don't build it yourself it's built wrong.

>If you do build it yourself it's probably still wrong.

>>944612
Ensure that your downspouts are cleared so that any drainage that occurs can flow freely. Clear out the downspouts exit and the area around it and ensure any ice in the downspout will melt. The salts will do this.

The key in clearing these things is to work your way from the ground up. If you start melting the ice before drainage paths are clear the water will infress into the building even more than it is now.

>>944612
I had them a few years ago. I salt really doesn't work well. Same with torches. They don't heat the ice enough to melt it.

I ended up using a pry bar and broke the ice in the gutter into sections, then carefully (very carefully) pulled out the sections of ice bit by bit.

Don't try to pry off the ice from the roof. You'll break the shingles off.

>>944612
Chisel off as much as you can without getting close to the shingles, then fill a few socks with your favorite salt and put them about halfway up the roof. I had some pretty bad water damage last year (near Boston) and that seemed to help. Still had to reshingle a bay window this summer, but that's because I'm a retard.
Setting up heater wires correctly takes hours/days and a lot of time either moving your ladder or sitting at the edge of your roof; don't think about it during the winter.

Canadian insulator reporting

How is your house built ?

The houses with the worst damming are usually level and a halfs with a room slapped in where your attic should be.
Depending on the pitch of your roof you might not have adequate space to prevent the heat/ moisture from your house getting into your attic.
Good ventilation will help prevent moisture build up.

What do you have in your attic and how deep is it?

>>944640
Here in Canada it's common to video document every little bit of work done for insurance purposes not to mention a house or building must be inspected at every stage

>>944706
Us has inspectors all the time but they don't give a fuck as long as you've paid the county whatever they want.

Can confirm us can't build for shit. If I build a new house I'm getting a prefab just because I trust a guy in a factory slightly more.

>>944710
Don't worry anon. The blue collars getting chromed in our lifetime then no more bs half assing.

>>944668
This guy knows. It's so easy to beat up shingles.

Can you connect a garden hose to a hot water line? Blow torches don;t work well enough, and are dangerous. If you can just pay a bunch of money to heat a bunch of water, you can clear it all in a couple hours.

And you know to rake off future snow, yes?

put the salt in a sock and toss it perpendicular to the dam. you shouldn't be trying to remove all the ice. you should be giving the water somewhere to go that isn't the roof.

if you get the cables you could lay them on top of the ice and let them melt in...

also if you have soot or cinders you can sprinkle that all over the ice... as long as it's sorta kinda sunny the cinders and soot absorb the heat instead of letting it reflect off the snow and will melt the ice....

this has happened to my house for years with no notable damage. House is 1920s brick, slat and lath no insolation anywhere. I get ice cycles like 4 feet long. Yes the heater runs a lot but I figure if I insolate the attic I will just have to run the air conditioner a lot in the summer. Any salt I throw just bounces off.

>>944799
same with my house (100+ years old). one spot on the front slope I always get ice dams. some winters with icicles that actually reach down the porch roof below forming a column. so far no real damage from any of it. had roof re-done about 5 years ago and I had them put extra ice dam material under that whole section of shingles. this year don't have much as its been pretty mild and little snow.
I've done work in the attic but nothing seems to help so I finally bought some of that heat cord but didn't get it installed before the cold hit but over the summer I'll get it installed a hopefully that will help keep the dams from forming.

have you tried blasting it with piss?

>>944612
As a preventative measure, buy a roof rake to clean snow off the edges of the roof.