Is there any use for scrap treated wood?

On 24/10/2015 19:33, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
Agree with this comment and fully support his do not burn treated wood. The
chemicals used to treat it when burned give off smoke that is not good for
you.

Preposterous. Poisonous smoke is very good to blow directly towards
Canadian small boys abusers and stupid people like Stan Brown and
intransigent neighbours.

On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.

--

Char Jackson

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

Regards, Rene

On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.

--

Char Jackson

Char Jackson wrote:

why is there significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and
if it's not, it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof.

Good guess.

Paul

On 10/24/15 10:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.

Pitch of the roof, and roofing surface will come into play here. If you
have a steep roof, not the usual 4:12 pitch, and metal roofing, even if
the roof is adequately insulated, the snow will eventually come down
under it's own weight and the melting effects of the sun.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 10/24/2015 11:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.


No its not a rare event in Wpg, many houses of this age suffer from this
problem, My house is 108 years old and the insulation is not Adequate.
This is a 2 1/2 story house and the attic was meant to be used for
living space such as bedrooms, and has an actual stairway but never
was,consequently It was floored with a good grade of Fir, To tear this
up to re insulate would cost a bundle. Being 81 and on a limited pension
will not allow this.

The canvas cover I use is extremely heavy, about 3/32 inch thick and is
quite strong, I don't think you could even buy this type of canvas nowadays.

Regards, Rene

"Rene Lamontagne" wrote in message ...

On 10/24/2015 11:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne
wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the
arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the
border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical
AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no
reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to
hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't
going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's
not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you
won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating
bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive
around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd
notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.


No its not a rare event in Wpg, many houses of this age suffer from this
problem, My house is 108 years old and the insulation is not Adequate.
This is a 2 1/2 story house and the attic was meant to be used for living
space such as bedrooms, and has an actual stairway but never
was,consequently It was floored with a good grade of Fir, To tear this up
to re insulate would cost a bundle. Being 81 and on a limited pension will
not allow this.

The canvas cover I use is extremely heavy, about 3/32 inch thick and is
quite strong, I don't think you could even buy this type of canvas
nowadays.

Regards, Rene


I think covering it the way you do is a good idea. Many times when the snow
on a roof melts, the temp is well below freezing and it melts due to the
sun, and or heat leakage through the roof.
So, when that water drips down onto the AC, it would probably freeze pretty
quickly and cause a large ice buildup on the fan and screen above it.
Besides, it keeps out other stuff, esp in the late Fall.
It worked well for you for 41 yrs.
--
Buffalo

On Sun, 25 Oct 2015 09:10:55 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 11:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.


No its not a rare event in Wpg, many houses of this age suffer from this
problem, My house is 108 years old and the insulation is not Adequate.

Yep, that was my assumption.

--

Char Jackson

On Sun, 25 Oct 2015 01:27:47 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 10/24/15 10:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.

Pitch of the roof, and roofing surface will come into play here. If you
have a steep roof, not the usual 4:12 pitch, and metal roofing, even if
the roof is adequately insulated, the snow will eventually come down
under it's own weight and the melting effects of the sun.

Correct, but not applicable to the areas where I've lived.

--

Char Jackson

On Sun, 25 Oct 2015 08:36:32 -0600, "Buffalo"
wrote:

"Rene Lamontagne" wrote in message ...

On 10/24/2015 11:19 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:37:25 -0500, Rene Lamontagne
wrote:

On 10/24/2015 10:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 21:50:21 -0400, Paul wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:14:01 -0400, Paul wrote:

I have a PTL structure around the side of the house,
and I used stainless steel screws. The structure
comes apart when the warm weather arrives.

Sounds like it probably wasn't put together all that well if the
arrival of
warm weather causes it to come apart.

g,d,r


It's a cover for the air conditioner. The frame for it
sits on the ground year round. The top section comes
off by removing eight stainless steel screws. The
screws show no signs of degradation after sitting in PTL.

When my house was re-roofed, the cover happened to be
on, over the air conditioner, when hot materials
poured off the roof. So it's prevented a mess on
one occasion, purely by accident. The house was
re-roofed, just after air conditioning season was
over (and I had the cover back on). The cover
is designed to take snow load, and a bit of snow
or ice buildup.

I didn't have to cover the old air conditioner,
since it was a side-facing unit, and the top was
a nice solid metal. Didn't have to do anything
for that one. But the new AC, the fan is on top,
and so I made a cover for it - just in case.

Sounds like you use something different up there, compared to the
border
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Down here, the typical
AC
unit has an upward-blowing fan in the condenser unit, but there's no
reason
to cover it.



I live in Winnipeg and we get plenty of snow and in the spring I get a
lot of ice, snow and water off of the roof which falls directly on my
upfacing fan and fan grill and would damage it were it not covered.
I use a very heavy canvas tarp with tie ropes at each corner and it
works quite well, It has protected my condenser for 41 years with no
damage to the machine.

I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to
hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't
going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's
not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you
won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating
bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive
around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd
notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.


No its not a rare event in Wpg, many houses of this age suffer from this
problem, My house is 108 years old and the insulation is not Adequate.
This is a 2 1/2 story house and the attic was meant to be used for living
space such as bedrooms, and has an actual stairway but never
was,consequently It was floored with a good grade of Fir, To tear this up
to re insulate would cost a bundle. Being 81 and on a limited pension will
not allow this.

The canvas cover I use is extremely heavy, about 3/32 inch thick and is
quite strong, I don't think you could even buy this type of canvas
nowadays.

Regards, Rene


I think covering it the way you do is a good idea. Many times when the snow
on a roof melts, the temp is well below freezing and it melts due to the
sun, and or heat leakage through the roof.
So, when that water drips down onto the AC, it would probably freeze pretty
quickly and cause a large ice buildup on the fan and screen above it.

During the winter you aren't likely to be needing A/C, so it really doesn't
matter how much snow and ice are on the condenser.

Besides, it keeps out other stuff, esp in the late Fall.
It worked well for you for 41 yrs.

It's always a good idea to make a quick visual inspection in the Spring,
before using the A/C for the summer season.

--

Char Jackson

On Sun, 25 Oct 2015 11:46:51 -0400, Wolf K wrote:

On 2015-10-25 00:19, Char Jackson wrote:
[...]
I don't mean to belabor the point, but snow and water aren't going to hurt
it. If significant ice falls from the roof, I'm guessing a tarp isn't going
to do much to help, but the bigger question might be, why is there
significant ice on the roof? That should be a rare event, and if it's not,
it probably indicates heat leaking through the roof. Fix that and you won't
have to worry about the condenser, plus you can enjoy lower heating bills.

When I lived in the northern states, my brother and I used to drive around
and 'look at things' as an excuse to take a car out when the streets were
snow covered and slippery enough to have fun. One of the things we'd notice
and comment on was when every house on a street had a snow-covered roof
except one. That was the one that had an improperly insulated attic,
allowing heat to leak through the roof.

Day-time thaws followed by night-time freezes may build up ice on a roof
around dusk as the temp drops. Why? Because even with a well-insulated
and ventilated attic the eaves will usually be colder than the roof. In
fact, there is a real danger of an ice-dam forming and mel****er
invading the attic. You can minimise the risks, but you can't eliminate
them.

Ice dams aren't caused by poor insulation, exactly, but proper insulation
plays a role. Instead, the primary cause is poor ventilation. A properly
ventilated roof will ensure that the roof stays at ambient temperature
throughout the roof's surface. If you can achieve that, which is quite
possible, then you will have eliminated the possibility of ice dams.

Bottom line, if snow is melting from the roof of one house while the
neighboring houses of similar design and construction aren't exhibiting the
same thing, you can be sure there's improper insulation and/or ventilation.
That house almost certainly has heating and cooling bills that are higher
than they need to be, as well as the possibility of water damage that can
become quite serious, not to mention an increased likelihood of mold and
mildew.

--

Char Jackson