Frozen in Ice Castle ideas?

[guywhofishes]

if you’re going to let the sun do the work you could speed things up a lot by sprinkling coal slag blasting sand, coal, charcoal, or similar black granulate around the perimeter

the sun has unbelievable power in March

 

[Achucker]

Mount a coupe of pontoons to the side. Wait a couple of months and you should be able to pick it up on the shore line. :;:

Bum deal. All good suggestions. One thing for sure it's going to take alot of work. Good luck

 

[Meelosh]

With what guy said above, I probably have at least a five gallon bucket full of granulated black carbon that I’ve used up that you could have. I’ll be throwing it away other wise. In Bismarck.

 

[SDMF]

Dark/Black lava rock?

 

[Meelosh]

Are you asking me? It’s just used carbon from a water filtration system.

 

[8andcounting]

You can’t put a ice house out and just abandon it .... sucks but maybe he will learn from this

 

[SDMF]

Are you asking me? It’s just used carbon from a water filtration system.

Not asking you, I was wondering if the lava rock was a viable option? It won’t wash away like carbon but I don’t know how costly it is.

 

[shorthairsrus]

??? Two barrels. Fill with a bag of charcoal light. Torches. And a snow cat with a blade

 

[LBrandt]

One thing for sure he is going to find out who his friends are.

 

[701FishSlayer]

One thing for sure he is going to find out who his friends are.

Hope he's friends with the insurance guy oof.

 

[WormWiggler]

what a predicament...

I agree with waiting a bit, at least until the frigid temp of this weekend are past...

I would be leary of drilling through ice, for fear more water will come up...

I wonder if using a chainsaw to cut a narrow trench along the outside of the entire house and filling it with salt of some sort...
then like has been said get the inside good and warm
have a pump of some sort to clear water away beyond the snow berm you likely created moving the snow away.

forced air heaters and tarp may help, but may also be pissing in the wind. While salt & sun are working nature's majic, chip away at the wheel areas and also try to make spots where a jack can get under the frame in a few spots.

Good luck, hope this works out, quite the learning experience

 

[espringers]

Once it's free, sell it to some poor unsuspecting soul. I wouldn't want to own one that had been sitting in water like that.

 

[SDMF]

If you were able to get a channel sawn/chipped below the level of the frame you might then be able to use a K-Drill to make “ jacking-pockets” for bottle or handyman jacks. Cap’t obvious here but get the jacks ON the frame. A tube or 2 of sand might be a good idea for leveling the jack and providing “jack-traction” before you put pressure on it. Yes, I fully expect and deserve to be ridiculed for writing “jack-pockets/traction”.

 

[Davey Crockett]

I feel bad for your friend but his predicament has became an entertaining problem solving topic. Lots of good ideas getting thrown out and lots of lessons will be learned the easy way because of it. The damage is already done IMO , It can't see it getting any worse than it is right now by the sounds of it unless he gets in a big hurry to get it out . I'd probably hold off and come up with a good plan and let mother nature help. Pretty sure NDGF would work with a guy in a situation like this if it stays cold and I'd bet this isn't the only one froze in and other people reading this are probably sweating bullets.
People here have offered and maybe some even have the necessary tools needed to get it loose. The only advice I have to offer is if your friend is not mechanically inclined find someone that is to call the shots. Maybe someone that works for a house mover or similar job that's not working for the winter. The problem I see with getting a bunch of guys to pitch in and help is a bunch of different ideas if plan a doesn't work then all of a sudden you have too many indians and not enough chief and things can go south in a hurry. Pretty sure it can be done safely with little damage . Good luck

 

[Bacon]

Still don’t know the location of said mishap. Would be nice to know at least a lake. If people are close I’m betting some guys would be willing to lend a hand.

 

[Opie11]

Hiddenwood Lake, SW of Minot near Makoti.

 

[mikef]

seems like a fools errand to mess with this until temps warm up at least. i kinda like the chainsaw idea cutting a wedge around the house, hopefully with no water filling it in. maybe one saw with a 16" bar for the wedge and one with a 36" bar to plunge cut underneath? also utube the guy from detroit lakes that recovers vehicles thru the ice. the seems like it would work in conjunction with the saw plan, idk

 

[Walleye Guy]

Opie

that the one on the west end of the lake south side? If so that house has been the talk around the area for about 3 weeks

 

[KDM]

A friend of mine had a similar, but much less complicated freeze up with his castle and he bought some of that heavy duty black plastic and covered his castle then put the heat on the inside as well as the outside of his castle inside the plastic. It freed his castle in a couple days, but it took some propane to get the job done. He left a wide enough gap at the base of the plastic to allow a guy with a hammer and chisel to get around the base and he slowly chipped the ice out and melted his way to freeing it up. He mentioned that the ice he chipped out would fill in with melt water from from the inside, would freeze again, and then he would chip that out. In his words it was a GIANT PITA, but it worked. Now he's so gunshy about leaving his castle out that he almost puts his house on stilts. Good Luck, I hope you can get the thing out without any wreckage.

 

[NDSportsman]

If you got 6" of ice inside I don't think you want to use the furnace. Mine had the furnace right near the floor so it would be under the ice. I'd get another heater set up inside and use a nipco under a tarp around the outside. Should be free enough to pop it loose in a day.

Had house froze in 20 years ago and chipped at it, got the job done but way too much work!