Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Ice dams
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MsAnnie
01-08-03, 01:11 PM
My house is a 50-year old cape. In the fall, I had new insulation put in - fiberglass batts, with reflectex on the slopes. Also, proper vents, a ridge vent and soffit vents (the little round plug type every 16 inches). Also replaced the entire ceiling on the second floor with new sheetrock. Althought the upstairs is now quite snug - even turned off one of the radiators - the ice dam problem has not improved at all. Help!
brickeyee
01-08-03, 01:27 PM
I do not believe the small round plugs are near enough cross section. The ones I have seen are only up to 3 inches or so in diameter and covered with insect screen on the inside. The screen alone reduces the flow area by 50%, and a 3 inch vent every 16 inches is pretty small. I hope you have a good ice barrier under the roofing.
Ed Imeduc
01-08-03, 01:59 PM
For now i would put a heater tape on the roof they have them just for this. Also Im with brickeyee your short on air in the soffit. WE use a strip kind of vent Its about 3 1/4 wide and goes the full length of the soffit. Some how the warm air is getting up there and makes the roof snow melt. This water runs down to the over hang of the home where it didnt melt then It backs up and leaks in under the shingles. Also you can pull the shingles and but an ice barrier up under them.
;) ED
;) ED
woodpecker
01-21-03, 07:18 PM
gutters
they can be your friend or your enemy.
without proper ice and water barrier protection, gutters are your worst enemy. they are the reason why water backs up. without them water is free to go were gravity beckons. once a gutter is put in the picture it goes like this:
1. gutters fill up and freeze
2. now when the snow and ice from further up the roof melts it naturally follows gravity downword till it meet the ice backed up from gutters already frozen full of ice from the previous days melt which forms a "damn"
3. now with no where to go the water that comes from todays melt gets trapped by the previous nights freeze(which is frozen from gutter to about 2' up the roof line) gets trapped and builds up, pushing under the shingles at the roof edge until it finds it low point to seep out.you can go with the heating coils but the only way to be sure is to install ice and water membrane under the first 3 feet, then replace 3 courses of shingles above that.
it works for me and ive been solving the same problem the same way for about 7 years now
good luck
they can be your friend or your enemy.
without proper ice and water barrier protection, gutters are your worst enemy. they are the reason why water backs up. without them water is free to go were gravity beckons. once a gutter is put in the picture it goes like this:
1. gutters fill up and freeze
2. now when the snow and ice from further up the roof melts it naturally follows gravity downword till it meet the ice backed up from gutters already frozen full of ice from the previous days melt which forms a "damn"
3. now with no where to go the water that comes from todays melt gets trapped by the previous nights freeze(which is frozen from gutter to about 2' up the roof line) gets trapped and builds up, pushing under the shingles at the roof edge until it finds it low point to seep out.you can go with the heating coils but the only way to be sure is to install ice and water membrane under the first 3 feet, then replace 3 courses of shingles above that.
it works for me and ive been solving the same problem the same way for about 7 years now
good luck