Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Common Sight These Days
My next door neighbor, who is elderly and can certainly not crawl on the roof herself, hired a roofing company to help with the ice dams. The workers were right outside my window. This winter, because of the record snowfall, it is very common to see people up on the roof shoveling snow and chopping away the ice that gathers at the edge of the roof--a condition that leads to backup of melting water under the snow, because the roof is warm from escaping heat. This melting water gets stuck behind the ice (thus the name "ice dam") and the water finds other paths--often INTO the house, which can be very damaging. The last time I remember a winter we had to worry about these ice dams was back in the 90's. We had water dripping down our bathroom window. My husband put the ladder against the house and climbed onto the very high, steep roof of our St. Paul Tudor-style house to remove the snow and let the heat escape. I held the ladder as he left the roof, crossing that layer of deadly slippery ice to find footing on the ladder. I was SO afraid that he wouldn't be able to navigate his way off the roof, and I would be left a widow, raising two small boys all by myself. (As you can see, I have a very good imagination for horrible outcomes--LOL!) The roof in this picture is not nearly as steep, and it has that second lower roof right next to it.
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That's quite a story and photo. Water is such a powerful force, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt boggles my southern mind.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard about ice dams until the other day when I was on the phone handling some financial stuff and through the conversation, found out the gentleman who was helping me was from Minnesota. I remarked that he obviously had snow to deal with and he told me about working on the ice dams on his roof.
ReplyDeleteOh Lynn, it's every Minnesotan's worst nightmare at this time of year. I saw a sign for a service like this and thanked God I don't have to be married to someone who does that. This is a great shot and description. You can really see the issue.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the danger and how necessary it is to take care of as soon as possible. As much as I love snow, I think the couple 'big' snow falls we get a year are plenty :)
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