The ice on your walkway may not start on your walkway: a frozen or overflowing downspout can feed the same patch all winter, and no salt at ground level will stop it. Here is how to read the ice pattern, what to do today from the ground and which fixes end the problem.
In This Article
Read the ice: four patterns and what feeds them
Stand on the ice and look up. The source is usually within a few metres: an outlet, an eave or a joint. The shape of the ice tells you which.
| What you see | What it points to | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| A fan of ice spreading from the foot of a downspout | The outlet discharges onto or beside the walk | Turn the outlet toward the lawn with an elbow or extension |
| A curtain of icicles and a glazed strip below the eave | The gutter is overflowing, often behind a plugged downspout | Clear the plug after a thaw, and have the run cleaned before the next freeze |
| Ice beneath a joint, with a drip line down the pipe | A leaking seam or loose joint | Reseal or replace it in dry weather, as in how to repair leaking gutter joints |
| A frozen patch at the end of a buried pipe, or in a low spot far from the house | An underground line that is holding water or is blocked | Check its slope and outlet, and ask a drainage pro |
Why a downspout freezes
A downspout is a narrow pipe, and water sitting in a narrow pipe freezes solid. In Southern Ontario the usual recipe is a mild afternoon followed by a hard night. Roof snow melts in the sun and runs down the pipe, then slows to a trickle as the light fades. Whatever is left inside freezes, and the next day's melt meets a plug.
- Leaves and grit hold water at the bottom of the pipe, which is where ice starts.
- A flat or backward-sloping extension keeps a puddle in the pipe.
- Shade on the north or east side keeps the pipe cold while other sides thaw.
- A buried line with too little slope, or a blocked outlet, fills and freezes.
Once a plug forms, meltwater backs up, spills over the gutter's front edge or escapes through a joint. It lands where you walk.
Want your driveway cleared before 7am?
Seasonal snow removal for homes across Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge & Guelph, so winter mornings take care of themselves. Free, no-obligation quotes, ready within 1 business day.
What to do today, all from the ground
- Make the walk safe first. Sand the patch, since sand grips at any temperature, and steer people to another route if the sheet is large.
- Keep people out from under icicles. They fall without warning. Do not knock them down while standing below them.
- Give the water an exit. Clear snow and slush from the foot of the downspout, and lift a flip-up extension or point a temporary elbow at the lawn.
- Photograph the pattern in daylight, with the date. It shows a contractor what to fix and records the problem if damage follows.
- Clear a plug only after a thaw, and only from stable footing on the ground.
What not to do
- Do not pour boiling water down a frozen downspout or over the ice. It can split joints, and it refreezes downstream as a slicker sheet.
- Do not hammer or pry at the pipe. Dents and split seams become new leaks.
- Do not use a torch or heat gun near vinyl, aluminum or the house wall. It is a fire risk.
- Do not climb a ladder onto icy ground to chip gutter ice. Ladder work needs firm, dry footing and three points of contact, and workers who spend their days at height train for it.
Fixes that end it, this fall and this spring
- Clean and flush every run once the leaves are down, and check the joints while you are there.
- Aim each outlet at the lawn. A downspout should never empty across a walk, steps or a neighbour's path. The guide to downspout extensions for Ontario homes covers the options.
- Check that horizontal runs slope so no water sits in the pipe.
- Look at buried lines. Underground downspout drainage explains the freeze risks.
- Treat heat cables as a stopgap. They melt a channel but leave the cause alone, and they need proper installation on a protected circuit, as the manufacturer directs.
If a downspout sits over a walk by design, the lasting fix is to move it, which is an eavestrough installer's job.
Who does what
Most homeowners can handle the ground-level steps. Flushing a two-storey run, resealing joints at height and relocating a downspout call for a crew. D&D Home Services cleans gutters from $125 on a typical Kitchener-Waterloo home (see gutter cleaning), and moving a downspout is eavestrough installation work, priced by a free written quote.
If a snow contractor clears your walk, name the icy spot in the written scope so that it is treated on every visit until the source is fixed.
Key Takeaways
- The ice on a walkway often starts at a downspout, an overflowing gutter, a leaking joint or a buried drain line, and its shape tells you which.
- Downspouts freeze when melt runs in by day and sits in the pipe at night, helped by leaves, flat extensions, shade and poor slope.
- Make the walk safe with sand, keep people out from under icicles and give the water an exit, all from the ground.
- Fix the source: flush the runs in fall, aim outlets at the lawn and move any downspout that empties over a walk.
Request a home-service quote
Select the service you need and describe the work area and access.