On Dec 4, 4:36 pm, "Joseph Meehan" wrote:
"ransley" wrote in message

But isnt poor insulation and air infiltration the real cause and its
one that can be fixed anytime, and often easily.

Those would contribute to moisture in the attic, but I can't see how
they might contribute in a general way to ice dams.

It's the heat escaping at the eave that causes the problem, and is
usually due to voids in the insulation envelope. The heat at the eave
exacerbates the freeze/thaw cycle and ice dams result.

R