We got hit with a ton of snow and I'm getting ice dams, some are working their way behind my fascia, but no further up the the roof. My roof has ice and water shield (pic related) so I'm guessing that ice/water it's crept up under the drip edge.I know ice dams can happen with or without gutters, but in this instance the gutter is making it worse, since the icicle can't just go down. And this one problem spot is in the roof valley where two planes meet so extra water.>it's an attic insulation issueI knowWhat's the best thing to do about this? Heat tape in the gutter? Roof rake? I don't want to use salt, especially every time it snows.Ignore it? Not much water even gets in and the house is 70 years old. The thing is when I had the roof done they added a ridge vent, but not soffits, and left the gable vents. Some people are saying you should have either gable by itself or soffit and ridge, but not a mix. So it's possible this is a new problem since then.(1/2)
I'm leaning towards getting a roof rake and cleaning up the lower portion of the problem area, at least even if an ice dam still forms it will be higher up where the ice and water shield can do it's job.But then idk if the dam would still form anyway in the gutter, since water will still run into it and then freeze.
Assuming you have a traditional vented attic space, should definitely get soffit vents, that would solve the problem for good. The airflow will help keep your roof sheathing colder which will prevent ice damming. While you're at it put in some loose fill insulation in the attic, especially thick around the top plate where the trusses meet the wall. This is easily diy w/ rental. You may want to hire the soffit install depending on your ability.Ideally you want more soffit vents than ridge ventilation, because with a ridge vent alone (even with gable vents) you could create an unbalanced system that can pull air from the house through leaks in your air barrier in the ceiling, which could deposit moisture in your attic or just waste your heat by having it sucked up into the attic.
roof rakedepending how bad it is, thatll just leave hard nasty shit at the eaves, hopefully sun can take care of that but if not salt the top then lightly tap it apart with after a bit or just let the salt do its thingthe snow melting is the water getting in your house.if you cant get the relevant part with a roof rake, get up there with a shovel. micro spikes help a lot, arent great for your shingles. if its leaking, which they often do it builds up, that snow has to come off
>>2973807Good insights.>Ideally you want more soffit vents than ridge ventilationI didn't know this.Yeah I think adding soffits will be the first step. Should be a good project right around my skill level. I know these are supposed to have baffles and stuff.>>2973850I should just get a rake too. The problem section is where two roof planes form a valley I probably only need to rake this one little spot which wouldn't be much work.
