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I've read several posts here about preventing ice dams and what to do with ventilation and insulation. I do not know much about construction, so I have been doing all I can to research the science behind preventing ice dams. I have found a lot of good info on this forum, so I thought I would post my case and see if anyone has any advice to offer.
I have an old 1.5 story home. When the home was first designed in 1942, the upstairs was solely meant for an attic. A homeowner built a bedroom into the attic, and I have been experiencing the ice dam problems that come with it (due to Minnesota climate). Water came in through the attic crawlspace and into my kitchen. Icicles formed inside my attic crawl space. I would like to prevent that from happening in the future.
Here is a picture of the south side of the roof:
http://postimage.org/image/sns4fv7o/
A large ice dam forms where the 2 slopes of the roof meet.
There is a bit of a crawlspace between the drywall and the frame of the house. Here are some pics of that:
http://postimage.org/image/sop76t38/
http://postimage.org/image/spap6bic/
The roof has no soffits, and I am not sure if they can be added. Here is the only place where I see that inside air can be drawn in. It is on the end of the roof farthest from where the ice dam forms:
http://postimage.org/image/15qrg5vo/
And here is how I think the hot air can rise past the drywall to the vents on the top of the roof (There is more than one of these in the crawlspace):
http://postimage.org/image/162c7lc4/
I had an insulation guy look at it and he thought that he would remove all of the cellulose insulation on the floor of the attic, and add the following insulation:
I am curious if the above treatment will help and if anyone has any other suggestions.
When I eventually have to re-roof, I plan on doing something like Dan Perkins suggests in the November 2008 issue of JLC.
I have an old 1.5 story home. When the home was first designed in 1942, the upstairs was solely meant for an attic. A homeowner built a bedroom into the attic, and I have been experiencing the ice dam problems that come with it (due to Minnesota climate). Water came in through the attic crawlspace and into my kitchen. Icicles formed inside my attic crawl space. I would like to prevent that from happening in the future.
Here is a picture of the south side of the roof:
A large ice dam forms where the 2 slopes of the roof meet.
There is a bit of a crawlspace between the drywall and the frame of the house. Here are some pics of that:
http://postimage.org/image/spap6bic/
The roof has no soffits, and I am not sure if they can be added. Here is the only place where I see that inside air can be drawn in. It is on the end of the roof farthest from where the ice dam forms:
http://postimage.org/image/15qrg5vo/
And here is how I think the hot air can rise past the drywall to the vents on the top of the roof (There is more than one of these in the crawlspace):
I had an insulation guy look at it and he thought that he would remove all of the cellulose insulation on the floor of the attic, and add the following insulation:
- [FONT="]Install 3”, R-21 sprayed closed cell urethane to rim and gable end walls[/FONT]
- [FONT="]Install 3 ½” , R-24 sprayed urethane to slope ceilings behind knee walls [/FONT]
- [FONT="]Cover foam with 1”, R-7 fire rated thermax, Total R-31 slopes and gable end walls[/FONT]
I am curious if the above treatment will help and if anyone has any other suggestions.
When I eventually have to re-roof, I plan on doing something like Dan Perkins suggests in the November 2008 issue of JLC.