"jeff" wrote in message t...
Hey everyone,

You are on the right track thinking insulation and venting rather than
re-roof. The reason for ice damming is the roof is not cold enough.
To prevent it, you need a warm house and a cold roof.

But I see the cottage has a problem that the suspended ceiling is
right below the rafters. You need to separate the area between the
living space and the roof. That space must be insulated and
ventilated. Insulated to keep heat in the living space from going in.
Ventilated to keep plenty air coming in to keep it cold during
winter.

Yaofeng


My parents have a cottage that has some roof leakage last winter. We live in
southern New Hampshire, and last winter was a real real cold one.

My parents are bent on getting the roof re-shingled and having more
snow-ice-shield added further up the roof since the leakage was from some
serious ice damming along the eaves. Never leaks in heavy rain, only when
big ice dams form.

I look at the roof, and see that the shingles are still looking ok, no
curling, peeling or racking. Also, I notice the roof has no venting
whatsoever. The cottage is one story, and I'm not sure the heated living
space is well insulated (I bet it isn't).

What I'm suggesting, is to skip the re-shingle job, and focus on insulating
and venting. I want to install a ridge vent and vent holes under the
soffits. Then get inside the attic space to see how the living space is
insulated, possibly addressing that too.

Does this sound like a good idea? I don't want to see them spend the extra
$$ on shingles when they look fine. I think if I can reduce the likelihood
of ice dams then I can prevent new leaks from occurring. We must do
something before the winter comes.

Also, the living space has a suspended ceiling with an unusable attic space
above. Should the roof rafters be insulated, or just the ceiling of the
living space?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeff F