there is/was a door to the left




my explorer is under this. you can see the antenna


any of y'all want to come over and sit on my deck and enjoy the atlantic ocean views? bring your shovel..
seriously, gotta keep smiling so as not to cry. it is really that bad..
thanks vic.. if you can leave these up for a while..
packy

Yikes. Looks like you've got some insulation issues to address with those ice dams, too.

If such discussions were permitted here, I'd offer to take it off your hands ... but I am guessing you haven't seen a whole bunch of real estate agent signs going up in the past couple of weeks.

It will all be gone by June. Hang in there, and advise all of your neighbors to put their houses on the market ASAP and definitely before next winter, so they can avoid any possibility of this ever happening again.

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Links to the State of Wisconsin Plumbing Code:
[docs.legis.wisconsin.gov]
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I am not a plumber.
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I feel your pain...back in and after a three day blizzard my truck was under nine ft of snow....glad I'm from nd...

Please post again early next week with photos, packy, after the next predicted blast moves thru New England.

Watching the news today on TV I saw where one very enterprising home owner posted a sign in the yard --- "FREE SNOW". Don't know how much effect it had. Maybe they will follow up tomorrow with a update.

Re the ice dams, you can have R100 insulation in the attic but if there is enough snow and the temps are cold enough, the sun will melt the top layer and as it flows down it refreezes and produces ice dams and icicles. The eavestroughs will be frozen up and hence the ice spills over the side of the house. South facing roofs are most susceptible to these kinds of ice dams and the part of Packy's house we are seeing is likely south facing.

George, I disagree. The ice dams form when snow melts from the bottom (warm sheathing) and runs down to the eaves (cold overhangs).

I'm in CT where we've also had tons of snow, albeit not as much as Boston. I had my entire roof foamed last year after battling ice damming and leaking. So now we have foam sealed from about a foot inside the top plates, all out the soffits, and completely up to the ridge. So about 8" of foam altogether. Zero air leaks, drafts, etc. The attic is the same temp as the house, and doesn't let any of the heat out.

My neighbors all have typical ice dammed roofs - melted snow from about halfway up to the ridge, with ice and icicles hanging across the entire roof face.
Mine - not a single icicle, and the snow is still in place on the whole roof.

Now the downfall is that since the roof isn't melting the snow, it accumulates and needs to be cleared to keep the weight down, but I'll take that any day over leaking and rot.

All that aside, I too want to see more pictures from Packy after this weekend's round of snow rolls through.



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I am not sure I understand - you foamed the roof of the attic and not the floor of the attic? Is the attic airtight now? What about vents and air flow from the soffits? Is there any ventilation in the attic now?

Lots of questions and I probably will have more once I understand exactly how your attic is insulated.

the attic may now be part of the conditioned space

there are pros and cons

the debate is not yet settled


IMO: NFG, but, time will tell

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Why are there three chimneys out the roof? You have three fire places?

I hope the pipes will not freeze. Its even chilly down here in Miami we are in the 60s!

It's been tough here in Modesto Cal. Low 70s and clear skys.

Packy, what are the oil companies doing for delivery of fuel oil with fill pipes buried under snow, driveways unplowed, etc.?

sum, the main part of the house i circa 1760. there were 5 fireplaces. the chimney with the missing brick has 3 flues..

m & m, to make matters worse, we have no natural gas in town. so all heat is either oil or propane with some electric.
so not only are the oil companies fighting to keep tanks full so are the propane companies.
the national guard arrived late yesterday with some equipment and personel.
i talked to public works yesterday and the crews have been working so much they are exhausted. add to that the equipment is starting to break down.
now, we are expecting 12-18 inches more saturday afternoon into sunday afternoon. then another storm on tuesday temperatures are now in the single digits with nights at or below zero.
one of my neighbors has put up a white flag on his flagpole while another has put a sign out front "free snow, inquire inside"..
as i said, we have to keep smiling so as not to cry.
vic, thanks for keeping this discussion up.
we are tough old yankees up here and we will survive.

Right, the attic is now part of the conditioned space, zero ventilation to the outside. There were considerations other than the ice damming that lead me to do this. I have hydro-air heat with an air handler, ductwork, and the feed pipes in the attic for 2nd floor of the house. Having the attic 100% sealed keeps everything the same temperature as the house. No more blast of frigid air coming from the ducts when the heat first kicks on, no frozen lines leading to the air handler, etc.

In the summer, our AC runs much less frequently as the attic isn't 150 degrees beating down into the house. In the winter we keep all the heat we make/pay for in the house where it belongs.

I agree with bernbeau that the jury is still out because people haven't been doing this long enough to fully evaluate, but I'm sold on it.

Packy - keep your chin up. Soon enough it'll be summer and we'll all be complaining about the heat, humidity, and the Sox letting us down again!

if (big if) done properly there will be a net gain in efficiency

plus

a MAJOR gain in comfort



the actual roofing is still at ambient as it SHOULD have been

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Reg, on the flip side, you have added Xsq.ft. to your heating/cooling bill. (This also seems to be the method widely accepted in the south.)

Packy, maybe this winter is what it takes to convince you its time for a snow melt driveway.

It is snowing here now but I just walked outside and chased the storm on up to New England. Thought you make better use of it up there.



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snow melt driveway ???
last night we were around zero on cape ann. my son who lives 20 minutes away (inland) was 9 below zero last night.how many BTU's would it take to raise the driveway temperature to above freezing under those conditions?
interesting that boston is using a few snow melting trailers. they are basically a big dumpster with a jet engine firing it's back end into the dumpster.
the water is collected and goes down the storm drain. it will melt snow as fast as the dump trucks and back hoes can load it in. i can't imagine how much fuel it is using ..