Popsicles, icicles, shoveling and heavy clothes ...

... these are a few of the things we love.

Wait, no, we don't.  And apologies to the Murmaids for paraphrasing their lyrics.
These are a few of the things we got, however, during Halloween Weekend here in northeast Pennsylvania. Really, you could have turned into a popsicle around here on Saturday. And while the icicles were minimal, they're the thing that's going to be a sign you've got the potential for a problem with ice damming.
Most homes aren't built with a heavy, waterproof roll of special material extending around the base of the roof upwards for three feet. Homes without it are more susceptible to ice damming than those with it.
An ice dam is simple.  Melting snow collects in a gutter that isn't working because it's clogged or full of frozen slush. In addition to spilling over and forming icicles, it also can back up. And when it does, it can back up UNDER your shingles and come into contact with the wood of your sheathing. From there it's a matter of time to cause rot and a matter of construction and luck whether it drips down onto your interior ceilings and walls, causing more damage.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that your homeowner insurance often covers ice damming. It's one more reason to read the insurance policy.
So don't shrug your shoulders and put the burden of repairs on your already stretched household budget. Call your insurance agent and ask if it's covered. If you get a response filled with bafflegab that amounts to either "no" or a token offer of a small amount of money, call in a public insurance adjuster. You may be unpleasantly surprised at what a real repair costs, including damage to the interior. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much more the public adjuster can get the insurance company to pay for.
Just something to think about next time you're admiring a seven-foot icicle hanging off your groaning (and probably pulled loose and bent) gutter. (That's covered too. :-)  )

Halloween vandalism: Yes, it's usually a covered peril

Halloween is upon us.  While most of it is just fun, many areas of the country have a tradition that Halloween is preceded by "Mischief Night" or "Goosey Night", which is given over to pranks and vandalism, some of it extensive and costly to repair.  Is vandalism covered by your insurance?
Stomping out a burning paper bag you discover on your front steps after the doorbell rings and finding out there's dog poop in it: That's a prank.
Getting eggs thrown at your car or house: That's vandalism, and damage from eggs is a bigger ticket item than you'd think, simply because it's so destructive at the molecular level that the paint has to be replaced.  There's often permanent discoloration. Trying to match the paint color is sometimes impossible. That means a new paint job for the car or the house, or new siding if it's damaged vinyl. Not cheap.
Most standard homeowner insurance policies cover vandalism. Call your agent, and, of course, if you don't like the answers you then get from your insurance company, call a public adjuster.
But don't forget that sometimes a little prevention is better than any cure. Damage from eggs usually requires the eggs to be in place a few hours.  It costs you nothing to park your car in the garage, nothing to check it last thing at night if you have to park outside, and nothing to shine a flashlight over your house before bed time to see if you've been "egged."
Now if they turn over your outhouse, that's another story. Fortunately, teenagers committing serious Mischief Night vandalism are not particularly inventive: eggs, spray paint, toilet paper in your trees, that's about the extent of the usual bag of tricks.
Good luck making it through Halloween. Next time we talk about when "No" from an insurance company really means you just have to try harder.