On 03 Nov 2006 15:24:17 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

(Goedjn) wrote in
:

Clearly, houses in upstate new york need steeper roofs and better
insulation.

Insulation is not always the answer, since direct heating from the
sun can also cause snow melt. If the air temperature is low enough,
you'll get re-freeze, especially over night.

We have no problems at all on the north side of our house, and while
we don't have ice dams on the south side, we'll sometimes have
icecicles hanging from the rain gutters, and the gutters will be
frozen solid.

Paint the gutters black. I still think steeper roofs
would help.