Comments on: When It Comes to Ice Dams, You CAN Fix Stupid!

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 23:52:50 +0000

John B.:
John B.: You're absolutely right. That's why I wrote: "Not all ice dams are the same. The great majority of them are probably due to ignorance about heat flow in buildings, as explained in this article. Sometimes, however, they're caused by changing weather patterns or solar radiation." See the first footnote.

By: John B

John B — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 23:49:29 +0000

Nice Article but not entirely
Nice Article but not entirely accurate.
Even with good sofit ventalation and good insulation the right series of weather events can cause Ice Dams.
When whole neighborhoods experience Ice dams where they had had no problems in the past...It ain't always Insulation!!!

By: Ed Hayes

Ed Hayes — Thu, 22 May 2014 01:28:07 +0000

It seems to me that IF your
It seems to me that IF your roofer knows what he is doing, applies everything correctly from the flashing, snow and ice barrier and roofing one will not have ice jambs in the first place. Right or wrong?

By: john henning

john henning — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:13:21 +0000

A portion of my 2nd floor
A portion of my 2nd floor (dormer area)is unheated storage (8 ft high with sloping ceiling). It has unfinished sheet rock on the front wall and along the rafters. I have a continual problem of ice daming and water intrusion. Would it be a possible fix to put foam board on the sheet rock to increase the insulation and, hopefull, mitigate the ice dam formation?

By: Mark Mackmiller

Mark Mackmiller — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:31:01 +0000

Nice article. I will also
Nice article. I will also endorse Steve Kuhl's JLC article and his expertise. As a fellow remodeling contractor, I know Steve's work and knowledge in ice dam removal and remediation of primary problem.

By: Mark E Correll, Sr

Mark E Correll, Sr — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 22:14:29 +0000

I have been a subscriber now
I have been a subscriber now for 5 or 6 years and was a General at one time. I believe this article only covers the most obvious of ice dam issues. With the latest on being Green – or I would say sustainable – oreintation is a big issue for house placement on one’s property. I recently build my final home and it is facing, so the back of the home is southerly as to collect the sun’s warmth in the winter and shade in hte summer. What does this do for me in the winter for ice dams, it causes them. My attice has a R49, where R38 is code, my wall are R27, where R21 is code. I do live in Colorado and I don’t get 200′ – 300′ of snow each year. What happens is when the temps are below freezing at night and most of the day -daytime temps melt the snow on the peak of the roof and water flows to the gutters, in the evenings that water freezes and the process repaets each day the temps remain below freezing, resulting in ice dams on the north and shaded east side of my home. Having a roof rake would help to eliminate the snow; thereby, elinmating the ice dams. My point is, insulation and air sealing alone don’t not stop ice dams – they certainly help and save homeowners money, YES THEY DO! I would like you to address all the issues with ice dams and offer sound solutions to those issues. We can be an asset to homeowners wher they will come to folks like us for all their issues. I want them to see us through trusting eyes, not shady ones.

Mark E Correll, Sr.

By: Don K

Don K — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 09:23:08 +0000

tommyB: Some attics are
tommyB: Some attics are sealed (and part of the building's interior, conditioned space), Thinking that a building needs to "breath" by uncontrolled leakage is outdated thinking and incorrect. I know of some perfectly sealed attics.

Take a look at Passiv Haus if you want to find out more. These homes are built without heating systems (or very tiny ones), and the homes are popular in Germany and the Netherlands where it is equally as cold.

Lifetime energy expense of most homes will total a million dollars or more, sometimes much more. Sealing a home properly add a few, small percent to the cost of a home and can save tens of percent. Plus, your home could be more comfortable and healthier.

Look into it.

By: Steve Kuhl

Steve Kuhl — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 05:20:37 +0000

I wrote a big article for JLC
I wrote a big article for JLC in January 2011 on the topic of ice dams. It dives deep into causes and solutions if anyone is interested and has an online subscription. It’s titled “Making a Business out of Ice Dams”. Otherwise, you might check out our website http://www.icedamcompany.com. I’ve been geeking out on this topic for the past 15 years and have come to a lot of conclusions that run contrary some commonly held beliefs. For example, ice and water membranes do little to stop ice and water (which is their entire purpose). Also, gutters have absolutely nothing to do with the formation or severity of ice dams. True story. Anyway, I’m happy to see JLC is continuing to bring attention to ice dams because they cause a lot of property damage every year.

By: Dixie Wong

Dixie Wong — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:59:21 +0000

Suggest references on putting
Suggest references on putting rigid insulation on the roof deck to solve this problem.

By: Wynn White

Wynn White — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:57:29 +0000

I thought the Venus Probe
I thought the Venus Probe would solve the problem.