Ping Leon: You OK?

[krw]

Or silcocks with the valve well inside the structure (and pipes routed inside). For once in 120 year problem, it's probably more expensive than it's worth, if anyone in Texas even remembers how to do it.

When I lived in Vermont, one Winter we had water mains 7' down, freeze. It got very cold right after a good thaw. The saturated soil allowed the frost line to go down very deep, very fast.

I did have a frost-free silcock freeze once. I forgot a hose connected to it. As it froze, the silcock froze and cracked because it couldn't drain.

[Leon]

Good to know. But the news has shown some broken fire hydrants. Could be for other reasons. In our next MUD meeting I will ask our operator what is going on.

[G Ross]

Glad you can remember the 1899 Freeze. I can barely remember 1999.

[DerbyDad03]

This should help...

[Leon]

Dang Sonny you remember the 1899 freeze? LOL... Darn typo's

We were at 7 degrees on Dec 23 , 1989. That was pretty chilly and no power issues.

The snow and ice, in our gutters around the house, is finally melting and it crashes with a relatively loud bang when it falls down the down spout.

Wellllll my wife's car comes in over night. All of my equipment spreads into all 3 bays on mobile bases when I am working. I am in the middle of a kitchen redo and her car sleeps outside when I'm working.

[Sonny]

Not a typo. It's rare we have sustained temps below 32. Local news pointed out the 1899 record low for Mardi Gras, how close we came to it and that year's Valentine's Day blizzard. The duration of this cold spell is just as rare. I kinna like this long of freezing weather. It'll help reduce the summer-time insects. I bought enhanced bird feed (more nuts) for the wildlife. In the mornings they are waiting for me. Lots of doves come to eat and drink in the evenings.

Only woodworking lately: Last week I altered a sewing machine cabinet for a handicapped lady, to install her new sewing machine. Delivered it 2 days ago. Needed to mount the foot petal on the inside of the cabinet in a knee petal position, to accommodate her handicapped legs. To mount the petal for an adjustable knee height, if needed, we tried a velcro attachment, which didn't work. Today, I'll go back and attach the petal with screws (fixed position). We'll see how this works out (non-adjustable height). The idea of an adjustable height knee petal: We're trying to anticipate future "problems" per her handicap.

The iron-on velcro stickum backing (for attaching to fabric) didn't adhere very well, at all, to both the metal foot petal nor the cabinet's finish. I didn't have any other type of velcro.

Sonny

[DerbyDad03]

I used to have ice-melt wires on my roof to prevent ice dams.

When I had my roof replaced a bunch of years ago, I had them open up the soffits and use a ridge vent instead of box vents. I then installed those styrofoam soffit baffles to increase the air flow through the attic. What a PITA!

No more cables and I haven't had an ice dam since.

Obviously, you don't have these issues every winter, so it's probably not worth the effort/expense.

They say that tossing a sock full of ice melt/rock salt up onto the roof, just above the gutter, will create a channel for the snow melt and prevent ice dams. That's essentially what the ice melt cables do.

The real solution is to keep the main roof cold (soffit vents, baffles, ridge vents) so that the snow doesn't melt up high and then freeze when it hits the unheated soffit. That's what causes ice dams and icicles. If it gets bad enough, the snow melt hits the dam and backs up under the shingles and into the house.

That really sucks.

[DerbyDad03]

It was the way your post was written that got us all chuckling.

You said "Got down to 15° in 1899" and then immediately (on the same line) described what happened this week. It reads as if it was a description of what happened in 1899.

I figured out what you were actually saying but it made me chuckle too.

[gray_wolf]

Cheers from San Antonio, TX

Lost the Interned around Sun 14. Managed to keep informed with my Android. Internet (att) returned 10:30. Had a few power and water shortages but nothing bad for me. Stayed nice and warm where I'm at. Didn't get much snow here. Maybe

2 inches. Ice has been bad on the freeway.

[Leon]

Got it!

I have had some luck using super glue along with adhesive backed velcro.

[Leon]

Hey! good for you surviving the weather!! About the same here, still have snow/ice on the ground in spots but nothing on the streets since yesterday.

[krw]

That's what everyone does in the North. It's a good idea down here, too. It's a good way of cooling the attic, both winter and summer.

Ice dams will ruin a roof, and the ceiling inside.

Into the house. They also use "Ice and Water shield" for the first

4-6' of the roof. It's a thick film with sticky on one side to stick to the decking. The stuff is made to seal nail holes. Even with a cold roof, ice dams happen (lotsa snow) and the I&WS keeps the water out of the house.

[Dave in SoTex]

Five [?] consecutive days that temps never got above freezing. I recall driving the '79 Ford van slowly home from downton Houston [after the Christmas eve half work day] to the Post Oak / Willowbend area on patchy ice, sleet and a little snow.

Dave in SoTex

[DerbyDad03]

Depending on the slope, they may use more I&WS than just the first few feet.

I have a 1 story addition off the back of my house with a roof flat enough that it probably should have roll roofing. MSR, TPO, etc.

Since the roof comes right up to bottom of my bedroom window and I don't want to see roll roofing in between the window and the beautiful red maple just beyond the addition, the roofer suggested I&WS shield on the entire roof. Architectural shingles look much better than roll roofing.

[krw]

Right. My VT house was a cape with a shed dormer on the back. When the rolled roofing on the dormer failed (the roofer said we did very well to have it 10 years), he suggested the I$WS and normal shingles, even thought the pitch was only 2:12. I don't remember he put on architectural or 3-tab. There's no place on earth that they could be seen so they were probably 3-tab.