Question for homeowners....

[Buffalo Historian]

Do a lot of icicles mean a poorly insulated roof?

[fweber73]

It's possible. It could mean that your insulation is not holding the heat in and allowing the layer of snow against the roof top to melt, which of course drips and forms icicles along your roof edge. If they are spread across the whole length of your roof edge, it could be a good indicator. If the icicles are concentrated in one area, though, then it's probably due to a chimney or some other source of "concentrated" heat.

Then again, you may have just forgotten to clean your gutters last fall. :D

[Denverbillsfan]

Not necessarily, like fweber said if you have a huge collage of icicles in one spot it could mean problem but most houses get icicles when it snows outside.

It wouldn't hurt to have someone come out this spring to have the roof checked out.

[d1220]

If you'd like an opinion from an insurance agent, I'll be happy to give one.

A lot of icicles could very well mean poor insuation. But it certainly means one thing, the possibility of ice damming. Ice damming is one of the main causes of roof and sheetrock damage in the winter in NYS. Ice damming is caused by poor roof insuation, combined with no flashing on the eves. If you look at your roof and the snow is melted at the top of the roof, but still there on the eves, then you have a problem. Over a few winters this can cause some major damage by lipping up the shingles and allowing water to seep down between your outside wall and the sheetrock. If you have a ton of icicles, it is very possible you have a ice damming problem. To solve this you need to insulate directly under the roof. Roll some insulation between the 2by4's under your roof and have metal or rubber flashing installed on your eves. Hope this helps.

[John]

The answer to your question is probably. The trick is finding the right way to fix it.


Originally posted by d1220
To solve this you need to insulate directly under the roof. Roll some insulation between the 2by4's under your roof and have metal or rubber flashing installed on your eves. Hope this helps.

This may NOT be the best solution to the problem. In my house, for example, I have no insulation at all directly under the roof. My insulation is on the floor of the attic/ceiling of the second floor. This keeps the heat in the living area. My attic is very well vented, with both sofit vents and ridge vents, so that the heat of the house does not heat up the roof. I have a 2 year old house, and the roof is very high and steeply piched, and the system works in my circumstance. Some older houses do not have this much attic space, but if you do, proper venting could be an issue as well.

In any event, if you have an ice problem spot, flashing is a very good idea.

Good luck.

[d1220]

Not everyone has a 2year old house. Your house is insulated much better than most of the homes in upstate NY, I see it on a daily basis in NY. Most older homes do not have venting. Also, an older home typically has an actual attic that serves as storage and has a plank floor, so insulating it is not an option. Then again, what do I know? I on deal with ice damming on a weekly basis in the winter....and issue many claim checks for it.

[The REAL Sabres]

What's on the other side of the roof?? An attic??

[Buffalo Historian]

No attic, not even a small crawl space. Its a cathedral ceiling.

I really appreciate eveyone's feedback, thank you.

[John]

Originally posted by d1220
Not everyone has a 2year old house. Your house is insulated much better than most of the homes in upstate NY, I see it on a daily basis in NY. Most older homes do not have venting. Also, an older home typically has an actual attic that serves as storage and has a plank floor, so insulating it is not an option.

Which is exactly why I said I had a 2 yr old house and described my attic and venting - not all houses are the same and older houses are not like newer houses. In fact, certain parts of houses (old or new) are different from other parts. Maybe you knew what kind of house we were talking about here, but I didn't.


Originally posted by d1220
Then again, what do I know? I on deal with ice damming on a weekly basis in the winter....and issue many claim checks for it.

Dude, you are the ice dam guru - I salute you

:worship: :worship: :worship:


Anyway, again, good luck on the problem Historian.

[d1220]

I'm sorry John. Where did you get your insurance and damage appraiser licenses?. I love how people without schooling or actual knowledge on a subject feel so inclined to give advice.

[John]

Apology accepted :D

For the record, do you have to have an insurance and damage appraiser liscense to know how to fix a roof? If that's the case, the roofers who did my house were totally unqualified, but somehow managed to get the job done. Come to think of it, the architect who designed the roof did not have an insurance and damage appraiser liscense either. The Historian did a woeful job of titling this thread too - What the heck was he thinking when he addressed the thread to homeowners???? It clearly should have been titled "Question for those with insurance and damage appraiser liscenses".

And what do you know about my schooling or actual knowledge? It is interesting, but you never disagreed with what I said (in fact you agreed with it), but you are somehow taking offence that someone who you don't think has an appraiser's liscence (but you don't know, do you?) commented on a topic which you seem to believe should be your sole perview.

For the record, if you re-read my post, I was not disagreeing with what you said, I was just adding to what you said.

And for the record, I do not think that those with insurance and damage appraiser liscenses are the ONLY people qualified to fix roofs, much less comment about fixing roofs on a sports message board.

But with all that said, you are the guru, dude.

:worship: :worship: :worship:

[The REAL Sabres]

OT: Is this the same Buffalo Historian from 2 years ago?? If so, what happened to you?? I enjoyed all of his inquisitive posts.