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Found 49 results for the keyword(s) ‘Ice Dams’

  • Article

    Why do I have frost on the inside front door casing of a new door?

    Kevin from frosty Regina, Saskatchewan writes: "I had a new steel door installed this summer. When the temperature outside drops below -15 c, frost develops on the bottom of the interior casing. Is this due to a lack of insulation behind the casing? Also the bottom of the exterior threshold a...
  • Article

    Extending the working time for epoxy mixes.

    Any time you use epoxy glue, resin or putty, you risk wasting whatever you don't use in time before it sets up. The larger the mass of mix that you have, the faster it will set because heat will speed up the hardening and the chemical reaction generates heat and when you have a lump of any epoxy...
  • Article

    How to keep a garage door from freezing shut.

    Bonnie from Briar Lake, B.C. has a metal door that goes into her garage and it is constantly freezing shut with a little accumulation of ice. What to do? The easiest solution is to put some form of plastic, slippery tape on at least one side of the door or the frame where it freezes. We found ...
  • Article

    HOW CAN I STOP FROST HEAVING FROM MOVING WING WALLS AND POSTS?

    Wing walls, posts, and concrete steps are common candidates for ad-freezing, even if they go below the frost line. They usually do not have proper granular back-fill around them, they have no weeping tiles under them, and they receive little or no heat from the basement. They are overlooked...
  • Article

    WHAT IS BASEMENT FREEZE SHIFTING?

    There are two basic mechanisms which can cause a basement to move because of freezing temperatures -- ice-block formation and ad-freezing.Frost heaving: a form of ice-block formation occurs when moist soil lies under the foundation footings and the frost line or freezing-point penetration reac...
  • Article

    Dealing with icy sidewalks, & roofs

    To get some adhesion on the top of ice you can of course use sand, but cat litter and fireplace ashes work as well.Of the commercial de-icers, the finer power like ones will tend to go down slowly and do better at thinning the ice. The more rock style will cut their way down to the bottom quic...
  • Article

    Pot lights: fire hazards and ice dams

    John in Kleinburg, Ontario asked if he should remove insulation from around his pot lights. Actually it is necessary to take the question much further.   HEAT FROM TRADITIONAL POT LIGHTS Pot lights, or recessed lighting fixtures as they are properly called, do create a lot of heat and it is tr...
  • Article

    the potential damage of ice dams

    Ice Dams are created when heat from the house gets into the attic and manages to melt the bottom of the snow pack. This melt water flows down to the edge of the roof where it is now freezing cold and you get ice dams or ice cycles. Ice dams back water up behind them and this finds it way under ...
  • Article

    Melting snow on the roof.

    George from Fort Frances, Ontario has a problem of snow melting off of his new addition. He is trying to pin down the problem because this causes ice formation on the edge of the roof.He had a ridge vent installed, but never checked to see if his soffit vents worked. A ridge vent, without goo...