OT: Gutters...

[temery]

Should gutters be removed for the winter? They seem to serve no purpose other than to channel melted snow/ice into the exterior walls of my house.

 

[CTBasketball]

You gotta clear the snow off the gutters (and roof) up to like 4-6 feet. If not, ice builds up inside them and the ice dams forces water through the shingles.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I have a similar problem. There are very tall Pine trees not far from my house and their needles are too fine for the gutter guards to keep out of the gutters. I now have an ice dam building between the gutters and the roof and found out a few weeks back from the roofer (who is also a close friend of my brother) that there is little he can do until everything thaws.

Come spring he's going to try to install something different to keep the gutters free while also allowing them to do what they need to do.

The thing is if we have a winter that is only slightly warmer than normal (as opposed to this one with an arctic vortex or two) you will dred having taken the gutters down in advance.

 

[uconnfan68]

Should gutters be removed for the winter? They seem to serve no purpose other than to channel melted snow/ice into the exterior walls of my house.

Have you looked at things like "Gutter Helmet" and the like? Might work for you. If your gutters are easy enough to put up and take down, why bother having them? My house is on a slope so the back of the house has a walk out basement. Three stories to the gutter. No way I was going to get up there.

 

[Dove]

Taking down gutters defeats the purpose of having them to begin with. They are meant to channel water away from the foundation, porches and driveway areas.

 

[temery]

Taking down gutters defeats the purpose of having them to begin with. They are meant to channel water away from the foundation, porches and driveway areas.

Doesn't help when the water is frozen.

 

[noeynox]

This was a big problem with the winter we had three years ago. I was shoveling today and noticed some pretty big ice dams. Hoping the rain later this week does the trick. Three years ago i had to use a hammer and screw driver to chip it all away.

 

[intlzncster]

Doesn't help when the water is frozen.

True, but when that ice melts, you want them. It's not so much during the snow, it's after that matters. We've things that look like the pic below. Still get an ice damn (sic), but it's not as big as it once was I think.

 

[Jaker]

Heat Tape

 

[intlzncster]

This was a big problem with the winter we had three years ago. I was shoveling today and noticed some pretty big ice dams. Hoping the rain later this week does the trick. Three years ago i had to use a hammer and screw driver to chip it all away.

Unless you are super careful, that can be a disaster. It's best to scrape off the bottom 5ft or so with a roof rake every time it snows (gotta be care with this even).

 

[NJHusky]

you do not want to take gutters down for the winter....they are intended to be permanently mounted...solution is to try and keep snow away from the gutter so the freeze/thaw cycle doesn't cause ice dams..Use a roof de-icing cable as well and you won't have any issue

 

[noeynox]

Unless you are super careful, that can be a disaster. It's best to scrape off the bottom 5ft or so with a roof rake every time it snows (gotta be care with this even).

True. It was tedious, time consuming, and i only did the front of the house/not so high end. Fof the back i used a roof rake to get what i could and went on top of the enclosed porch where the roof pitch was slight and shoveled off the snow where it was safe to do so. It was a nightmare, but three years ago water dripping inside the enclosed porch cause of the ice dams.

 

[jleves]

I can't stress this enough for people having problems with gutters causing ice dams and ruining your roof or walls: MOVE SOUTH!

 

[UConnDad]

Isn't global warming going to solve this problem?

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Should gutters be removed for the winter? They seem to serve no purpose other than to channel melted snow/ice into the exterior walls of my house.

Does your roof overhang the walls ? You need to cut soffit vents under the overhang. You want to have a cold attic space between your roof rafters and ceiling joists. This helps to prevent ice dams.

 

[gtcam]

put ice melt/salt in old nylon stockings and lay them length wise on the ice - it will melt them down but first snow rake the roof of snow

 

[BoatShow]

Some gawdy icicles going on here. Thinking about grabbing a rough rake and hucking some rock salt up there.

 

[jdb50]

I've got a cape with a shed dormer on the back (north side) and no gutters. With a foot of snow on it I still get an ice buildup and so I get the extension ladder out (with a standoff) and rake the snow off about 5 feet up. I also had the house re-roofed about 12 years ago and had water and ice barrier put on under the shingles. I would think this is code now and would recommend getting 6 feet (2 courses) of this put on your roof. Basically you need to get your home re-roofed if the water is getting into the home. For now try and safely rake off snow as much as you can.

 

[Dougsts]

put ice melt/salt in old nylon stockings and lay them length wise on the ice - it will melt them down but first snow rake the roof of snow

This is what I do, raid my wifes panty hose drawer, it really works well. I have a large ranch home, so I use a lot of them on the ice dams. It does allow the water a way off the roof instead of building up under the shingles.

 

[Robertelamin]

I just ignore it Tom like everyone else I know.

 

[Danzz]

Pulling out of my driveway this morning I noticed that half of my gutters on the front of my house are loose and hanging down about 6". The house and gutters are 40 years old so it is probably time to replace them. I'm way too old and medicated to go up 2 stories on a ladder and I don't want anyone else getting hurt. This will be a Spring job.
I wonder if sun belt people who look at Currier and Ives prints realize the misery that comes with the beauty.

 

[tdrink]

Get rid of your gutters completely if at all possible. Gutters are great when they are working properly. As soon as they stop working properly they are far worse than having nothing.

Decent overhang. Ice and water membrane below shingles. Gravel and perf pipe perimeter drain at the drip line.

By the way I am a master carpenter with 30 years in the business.

 

[zls44]

Call Dana Depercio electric from Rocky Hill. They put in a melting system on a property I help manage. It works great.

 

[Danzz]

Get rid of your gutters completely if at all possible. Gutters are great when they are working properly. As soon as they stop working properly they are far worse than having nothing.

Decent overhang. Ice and water membrane below shingles. Gravel and perf pipe perimeter drain at the drip line.

By the way I am a master carpenter with 30 years in the business.

Thanks

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Isn't global warming going to solve this problem?

Global warming will likely make things worse. Warmer air means more energy in the air. So instead of a bunch of little clippers that give the Tri-State area (NJ/NY/CT) 2 to 3 inches of snow here and there with maybe 1 or 2 big storms a year, the area instead will few small storms and more of the big snow and ice events.

North Jersey averages around 30 or so inches of snow a year. In 2010/11, we got north of 60 followed by two below average years in 2011/12 (though the infamous Snowtober event was a witch) and 2012/3. This winter, 2013/14, we are well into the 50 inch range and still have half of February and all of March to get through. The record is close to 70 in the winter of 1995/96.