# frozen down fish house



## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

So I dropped my house on the ice with no blocks in Dec. My job jumped from being able to fish once or twice a week to I haven't seen my house since I dropped it on the ice in Dec. So today I find my house frozen with nearly a foot of ice in and around the house. :crybaby: Any suggestions?


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

8x9 feet with no wheels. Any and all suggestions being taken. Still have a month to get it off in ND, but if I need to catch a warm spell or something I have some time. Also, I cannot get a vehicle to it right now either. Let the suggestions, comments, criticism flow fellas.............


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## farmerj (Jun 19, 2004)

couple hours a day ice chipping should bust it out in time for removing it.


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Leave the heater on over night, might melt it loose. Then a lot of chipping if you can tear it loose at all. I have seen a few like this, always have to remember with a lot of snow it pushes the ice down and brings the water up through.

I watched one guy just burn his down on year.


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## magnum3.5 (Sep 19, 2003)

Drill a hole down about 6 inches or so or how ever far you need to go to get a handy man jack under the frame. Chip around the house and chip down for the handle of the handy man jack handle so you can get it down far enough to raise and click into the next hole I have also used the auger to do this. It's always best to have 2 handy man jacks and bring them up even so you don't split the floor. Make sure you run the heater over night or even better 24 hours on high. The warmer the better, getting that floor warm will help. I have done this a lot especially lately it does work and it is a lot of work. I hope this helps.


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

southdakbearfan said:


> Leave the heater on over night, might melt it loose. Then a lot of chipping if you can tear it loose at all. I have seen a few like this, always have to remember with a lot of snow it pushes the ice down and brings the water up through.
> 
> I watched one guy just burn his down on year.


I have a foot of ice inside the house and can't open the door because it opens in. Heater is also part of the ice block in the house so I'll have to use my sunflower. I don't think that will help though because of the foot of ice/water that will be in there. I'm thinking chainsaw to the ice around it but don't know what to do about the floor being frozen. The sides won't be too bad, it is the floor and the getting it out of the hole without having a vehicle. I think I can get a 4 wheeler to it but don't think that will have enough gusto to do much. Especially with the water/ice weight inside of it.

I'd burn it down , but it is made of garage door panels so that won't work. It is not light, but not crazy heavy either.

Thanks guys, please keep them coming. I might have all day Tuesday to work on it.

Also, I have heard of shooting a 22 through the floor, but with all that ice/water inside, that probably won't work either.


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Thats a tough one, aside from taking the thing apart and removing it from the floor you may be screwed.

Wish you the best with it, it sure sucks.


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## stalker (Oct 29, 2008)

What about ice melting chemicals like salt or maybe the magic beet juice.

I've never done it, but maybe you could get the ice on the inside and the 
outside rotten with some salt. I'd use a lot of it.

Good luck!!!!!


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

How about a chainsaw or Concrete saw? Then chip away.


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## Snowgooseman__SD (Jan 22, 2010)

Can you share some pictures i'm a little confused about how your saying it.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

A Bobcat with forks on. Ram it under each side and lift. There is no easy way. Good Luck.


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## Andy Weber (Nov 18, 2009)

There is no easy way like everyone said. I have a heavy 7 x 14 but I never have had ice actually inside mine. I do not know why i never get water in mine, but all of the shacks around mine have water in them. Mine had ice around it so I just started chipping away they chipped a slot under it big enough for a well pipe and had a few guys prying on it. Then used tracked ATV with studs to jerk it out. Ended up using three M8 sleds stuck, a skidoo summit, two tracked atvs, and a pickup stuck getting it off the boat ramp.


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## shootnmiss09 (Sep 15, 2006)

bet you wont make that mistake again!!


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

Snowgooseman__SD said:


> Can you share some pictures i'm a little confused about how your saying it.


No pics, sorry. Picture putting a house on 12" of clean ice, adding 1 foot of water to the whole lake and refreezing all of it. Everything in and around the house is frozen. My 20 lb LP bottle on the outside of the house is frozen to the top of the bottle with only the "neck/handle" sticking out. Worked on that for 20 min. with a chisel and never got it out either.

I'm thinking chainsaw, probably have to break the window to get in and chip out the ice inside and then run a heater inside for 8 hours/overnight then a utility tractor with a front end loader, some bars and some manpower. My biggest thing is getting it on top of the ice and out of it's icy grave. Not to worried about getting it off right now, but if the opportunity arises...

There is 2 feet plus decent ice on the lake. Skidsteers weigh some 7000 lbs and a little Deere utility only weighs a couple thousand. I think a skidsteer would have a little more lift capacity, but don't know if that will really matter. If it is frozen in that tight on the floor, it probably won't matter what a guy is lifting with. More is better, but safest is best. Would a bag of rock salt along each side of the house be worth while? I have not been back since Saturday and with the weather I think there is most likely 4" of water on top of my problem now as well.

The angle iron frame has just 3 2x4 runners attached on the bottom and most likely they will end up getting torn off which is fine, but there is not a lot sticking out so to say that would really "lock it in" to the ice. I'm optimistic, but pretty damn nervous!
Thanks guys and gals.


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## HUNTNFISHND (Mar 16, 2004)

Use a propane ready heater to blast hot air all around the house and try to force the air under the house too using sheets of wood or metal. Then like someone else said, chip away enough to get a hi lift jack under it in a few places and try to bust the bottom and outside free. A bit of heat, chipping, chopping, drilling, jacking, prying, and a whole lot of work and it should get free. Good luck! 

The next couple days would be a good time to work on it! Don't forget to put your lines in or tipups, might as well fish while you work! :wink:

Once you get it free you can just pull it off and let the inside melt in time or speed it up with a heater.

Brings back not so fond memories! Glad we got rid of our permanent, I don't think I'll ever leave a house out on the lake after what dad and I went thru in 1997! :shake:


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Buddy did this a few years back, we had to go through a window to get the heaters inside. We set two cinder blocks through the window with the heaters strapped to them with metal wire. Then we started them and covered the window and came back two days later. Had 100 lb LP tanks running each. The house was mostly loose and the water inside the house had run out the door. Got the handi man jacks under the house and lifted it up in about 10 minutes. Temps this week are in your favor if you can work on it. Not overly cold in the night, and above freezing during the day. If you cannot move it right away make sure and take blocking to get it up as temps are going to melt the snow making it worse than it is now!

like hunts I am done with a permanent house unless they belong to someone else!


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

like hunts I am done with a permanent house unless they belong to someone else![/quote]

X2! Probably be for sale after this. Packed in a Eskimo hub style shack and still fished Saturday. So easy to pack in and back out again with no worries! Only reason for the permanent is a warm place to get the kids interested. They were pretty upset too that dad's fish house is under water.

I don't think I will have help til this weekend so can't quite capture the help of the sun this past couple of days, but I think that will have helped. I will probably be breaking a window on Friday night to set up heaters and go back on Saturday morning with some help and more tools. If I can get the utility tractor out there on Saturday, I think I'll go for broke and see if I can't get it out and home both.


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## pmccarthy124 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hook a chain to it, to a pickup with chains on it, or to shore, or to a wrecker. Lets call this direction "front." The thinner the ice, the farther away it should be. Get several buddies, wearing lifejackets. 1 safety buddy with a long rope. No drinking. :beer:

Take a chainsaw, cut all the way around it clear to the water. Cut a 2 foot space in front. Remove this block of ice. Slope the ice to the front. Put heavy timbers/rails down from the front under the icehouse, and carefully pry with these while the chain tightens up. These will act as rails as the winch/chain tightens up, guding the front of the icehouse up onto the ice. Once the icehouse is up on top of the ice, skid it to shore and let it thaw out there.

If that won't work you have to try to skid it up onto a trailer and take it home.

I take no responsibility for sinking ice houses, trucks falling through the ice, smashed hands, broken chains, drowning your buddies, etc. SAFETY FIRST. :shake:

If you have more questions, I'll try to draw bad pictures.


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## T0MCHANDLER (Mar 5, 2009)

Involve your local CO. they've seen this many times and can probably offer some do's and don'ts. they will appreciate you making the effort instead of yanking the regristration and trying to pass it off on them. they may even have a name of someone nearby that can help as they are in charge of lining up the removal if the house is out past the deadline.


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

Well, after a week of serious worries and strategizing I stopped by my fish house on my way home from work to find open water on 2 sides. Open as in open to the bottom of the lake. The recent melting and winds must have made a vortex in the hole that my house sat in which ate away the ice. We got there about 6pm so did everything by flashlight and headlight  . I had to chip along the north side of the house about 2 inches and then get a spot chipped out to put a handyman jack under. I jacked it up about 6 inches and blocked it up and pulled the jack out. We used some 12 foot long 2x6's to ramp it up out of the hole and hit it hard with the pickup and after a few pulls it ramped right out. The water in the house came out leaving about 4 inches of ice to fall to the floor. I still can't open the door but it is in my driveway and not on the bottom of the lake. All this while standing in about 16 inches of water with a life jacket on of course. I have no idea what kept it up but there must have been just enough good ice under it when I put it out in Dec. Still can't believe that it is home! Now for another liquid to calm my nerves! :beer: Thank you to all for the tips! Anyone want to buy a fish house!?!


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Good Job. :beer:


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## Snowgooseman__SD (Jan 22, 2010)

Glad you got it home safe a sound! now i hope it didn't do much damage to the ice house.


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## snowfreak (Feb 28, 2011)

i know people that have had the same thing happen im not sure if it will work with a foot of ice but take a 30-06 or 308 or similar size caliber rifle and shoot holes throught the floor approx 1 ft apart around the perimiter of the house. make sure you wear hearing protection.


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