Take gutters off or leave them on???

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

Well, I got a little problem on the new flat roof, as you can see from the attached picture:( :rolleyes: This new flat roof is only 2 months old and I got these heavy icicles(SP?) hanging from the gutter. What is the best option???

Thanks,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005029.jpg

[Frank Pellow]

Replace the roof with one that is not flat. :D

[Dan Racette]

insulate or ventilate the attic space just below the roof. Otherwise I would get an ice dam heater cable. you zig zag them just before the gutter and it should help considerably. Either way you are providing to much heat to the roof is most likely the problem.

[Bob Weisner]

Is it safe to use a heater cable on a flat roof. I bought one and the package said to not be used on flat roofs.

[Randy Moore]

I could be wrong but it appears that you are losing heat into the attic or through the roof. You need to add more insulation to the roof or find out WHY the iceclces are appearing in such a concentrated (sp) area.
Flat roofs are nothing but trouble on homes. Get a pitched roof and leave the gutters on the house.

[Wolf Kiessling]

Hi:

Well, I got a little problem on the new flat roof, as you can see from the attached picture:( :rolleyes: This new flat roof is only 2 months old and I got these heavy icicles(SP?) hanging from the gutter. What is the best option???

Thanks,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005029.jpg

I don't understand gutters on a flat roof. Then again, I know nothing about house construction. The other thing, it is possible the gutter does not have enough pitch toward one end and the water ends up sitting in it. Could you not refasten the gutter (after the freeze of course) and put a nice tilt on it so the water can flow out freely?

Then again, what do I know??????

[Tyler Howell]

What Dan Said all your $$$$$$ are going through the roof.

[Ed Blough]

Contrary to what everyone has said you may not be losing heat through your roof. It looks like the new roof has snow but perhaps it is melted off the older roof. In any case were the ice is forming is over the overhang where there is no heat at all and the ice forms. It is like bridges on a road that freezes first. Just the sun during the day will melt some snow and the water runs to the overhangs and freezes because the overhang is unheated and air under it is shaded and cold.

You have two choices allow some of the heat from the house get to the over hang or buy heating wire on the roof.
The slope of the roof helps little. I had a very steep roof with tons of insulation and I fought ice dams every winter. When the house was reroofed they put a 6 foot wide rubber membrane so when the ice dams formed the melting water could not get inside.

The problem with heating wire on the flat roofs is that just a very small amount of ice is enough to make the melted water run back under the shingles. You need to have the heating wire on everytime it is freezing so ice never forms and you don't have problems. When you reroof make sure you use a rubber membrane under the shingles you will still have ice problems but then the water can't run back into the house.

In the meantime is there a basement under part of the house with the flat roof? If not you probably should take the gutter down. If there is a basement if you remove the gutter you may have water problems.

[Bob Weisner]

Thanks for all the replys!!!

I do have a basement under the house. The house was waterproofed from the outside, so if the water runs off the roof, it will not come back into the basement. :) I wish I could put insulation in the area that has the flat roof, but the former owner had this idea of putting a flat roof on the house when he bought it. On the flat roof side of the house, there is only about 3 to 5 inches of clearance between the ceiling and the flat roof. Not enough space for insulation. The flat roof was put on originally in about 1948. It has been replaced over the years.

Oh, the joys of old houses:rolleyes:

[Dennis Peacock]

Gutters? Those only exist in bowling alley's right? :p :)

Seriously though.....with ice loads like that? You won't have a choice for long.

[Barry O'Mahony]

Depending on your climate, a lack of gutters can lead to runoff water undermining your foundation, leading to $$$$$$$$ repairs. If you get 5 inches of rain a year, no problem. If you get 45 inches, that's another story.

Are the gutters and/or downspouts clogged? It looks like they've tended to overflow.

[CPeter James]

This will ALWAYS be a problem until you get some ventilation and insulation on that roof. Consider using urethane foam on top of the flat roof and and air space above the insulation with a eve and ridge vent. I have a log cabin with cathedral ceilings and the second time we did the roof that is what we did and end of problem. This is in central New Hampshire.

Email me if you want more information on this. I put a lot of time into research for this problem.

CPeter

[Bob Johnson2]

From a definite "non pro"... Looks pretty familiar, but yours is worse. As some of the guys have said it is a problem of insulating the ceiling then providing better ventilation between the roof and the insulation, at least that's what the pros tell me. Is your ceiling insulated at all? Is there room for soffet venting? (my problem), if no then you should probably call in a "good" roofing contractor and get your checkbook warmed up. I'm told that heating cables may very well do more damage then good.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Hi Bob. That is quite the ice dam you have there. I can see by your side wall that your roof is not flat, but a pretty low slope. The ice is not entirely hanging off of your eavestrough and it likely will not rip it off. Removing your gutters will not help the problem, you can see that for yourself by the very fact that ice is hanging off the gutter. It will just hang off the roof. Heat cables are a bandaid at best and don't work very well. Drive around and look at houses with them. The only real solution is to stop the roof from being heated. Soffit venting helps because it allows cool air to travel under the roof and does not allow snow to melt. Stopping the heat from entering your attic space is the only real solution. Can you lower the ceiling in the upstairs? Good luck Peter

[Bill Lewis]

On the flat roof side of the house, there is only about 3 to 5 inches of clearance between the ceiling and the flat roof. Not enough space for insulation.2" Celotex foam board insulation has a rated R value of 14.4. Fill the space and forget about ventilating, you can't do in on a flat roof.
However, if you only have 3 to 5" then it sounds like your roof is understructured.

[Jim Dannels]

If you want to keep the house, Keep the gutters.
Obviously there is a lot of water, it will run down the walls of your basement and eventually take out the foundation, kick in the walls etc.
No gutters and faulty gutter, along with not banking soil to cause runoff probably take out more basements than we will ever know.

[Doug Jones]

Your current problem is deeper than what you can see. Its not that the gutters are damming up, its that the ice is working its way up under your shingles and starting to dammage your sub roof. Soon you will be seeing water spots on your ceilings if this problem isn't dealt with soon. BTDT

[Bob Weisner]

Well, I got about 80 % of the ice off of the gutters today. There is only about a 1 to 1 1/2 foot length of ice still hanging on the gutters. It is stuck very hard on them and I dont want to damage the gutters by forcing the ice off of them. It is supposed to warm up in a day or two , so I will try to losen the rest of the ice off then.

Thanks for all the replys.