Ice Dams on My Roof - Help!!

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

With this unprecendented snowfall, coupled with changeable weather, I'm experiencing a real pain-in-the-ass situation with part of this house we bought last August. On one portion, that sticking out in front of the main structure, which includes an insulated garage, an office and a utility room, snow on the roof has melted to form thick ice dams along each eave. The ice has now crawled back underneath the shingles and is leaking through into the interior walls, coming out as water around windows and by the baseboards. So far no major damage, but I need to find a way to get rid of this ice before it does any major damage - I DON'T want to be replacing drywall and broadloom!

In retrospect, it's probably caused by inadequate insulation in the ceiling, which I can fix, but I can't put up any roof heaters while I have 6 inches of ice along the eaves. How can I get rid of this ice without destroying the existing roof?

Needless to say, I'm so goddam mad at the previous owner I could spit. Thanks, asshole, for your consideration.

Gotta fix this before I end up with a major reno job (for major bucks) this spring... any bright ideas?

Thanks guys.

Geoff