ICE DAM

[moevida]

I have just recently purchased a brand new DW this past year. This is my first winter in the home and I have had a huge problem with ice damming. I first noticed water spots in my daughters room and in her closet her light globe has filled with water. I do believe the ice dam was formed not because I didnt get the snow off the roof but because the house was not properly installed and I do believe that I am losing heat through my roof. Now the reason I say this is because the snow on the very top of the roof seems to be melting quickly. The other night it was 18 degrees and my house was actually dripping from the outside. I have contacted the dealer and the manufacturer. The dealers service manager came and inspected my house, he did not tell me the outcome all he told me is that they would come back and make some more repairs. I do believe that there is not enough insulation in my roof that is causing the melt, I mean after all nothing at all should be melting at 18 degrees. The dealer seems to disagree. They are willing to make some minor repairs but this is going to happen year after year. My next step is to get a thermal image photo to prove to them that I am not nuts. My real concern is now that its almost Spring I probably wont have the problem again until next winter...how convienent that the warranty will have run out by then. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to get them to listen to me and not just make a few repairs that are not going to address the real issue.

[rmurray]

I hope you have no problem, but you should file a complaint with your state's agency that monitors for HUD violations and has the problem to force the plant and/or dealer to make the home compliant to the code. You can find them here;
NEVADA
Barbara Braaten, Interim Administrator
Department of Business and Industry
Manufactured Housing Division
2501 E. Sahara Avenue, Suite 204
Las Vegas, NV 89104-4137
PH: (702) 486-4278
FAX: (702) 486-4309

Designee: Gary Childer
PH: (702) 486-4138
FAX: (702) 486-4309

You might want to read the following article as well;

http://mfdhousing.com/portal/stories.php3?nid=5221

Good Luck and keep us informed

[moevida]

Thank You so much for the info. That is what Im going to have to do. In the meantime if the issue is not addressed and my daughters room develops any form of mold they will have an even bigger problem.

[rmurray]

Just for your information and others reading this, these are moderated forums, I deleted your 2nd attempt to post this message. All posts have to be review and cleared by a volunteer moderator. Usually ALL posts are reviewed with in 24 hours, most much sooner than that. Unfortunately this was a process the webmaster HAD to implement to keep these forums useful. At one point spammers were posting THOUSANDS of junk ( mostly foul) posts per hour. we still delete a few junk posts every day..I am sorry this does mean it might be a few hours before your posts go live..Good Luck with your home. Let us know how it goes with the state..

[David Oxhandler]

Normally ice dams form over the eves (overhang) portion of the roof that has no heat loss because it is not over the inside of the home. If the heat loss is at the very top of the roof the problem might be a lack of insulation between the sections of your doublewide...

You MUST take corrective action to prevent mold from forming ASAP. Once the mold starts above the ceiling it is difficult to imposable to get at it.

You need to insist that the builder take down the inside trim and finish at the marriage line inside the home to see if the installer put enough or any insulation in-between the 2 sections.

Do not accept delays. If necessarily take matters into your own hands and give written notice to the builder that you intend to bring in a professional Weatherization contractors, who may be listed under Energy Management and Conservation Consultants or Insulation Contractors in the Yellow Pages, They are professionals who can deal with the heat transfer problem that creates ice dams. A blower door test should be used by the contractor you hire to evaluate the air tightness of your ceiling. In addition, they may have an infrared camera that can be used to find places in the ceiling where there is excessive heat loss... and recommend corrective action.

Moisture entering the home from ice dams can lead to the growth of mold and mildew. These biologicals can cause respiratory problems. It is important that the growth of mold and mildew be prevented. This can be done by immediately drying out portions of the house that are wet or damp.Delay and permitting mold to form would be a bigger problem for you than the builder as you could find your home uninhabitable.

See these source articles:

Should You Install Ice Dam Protecton?

Ice Dams from Regents of the University of Minnesota