Looking for some advice on adding insulation to my South facing
colonial in NH. the house is new construction (3yrs old) with a walk
up attic that has two dormered windows facing south. The attic floor
already has R30. We will eventually convert this to a living space.
In the winter, the roof tends to keep snow on the back side, and we
get long icicles from the eaves on the backside. I believe this is
due to the attic heating up due to the warmth of the sun on the front
(south)- we never have any snow on the front. What I want to do is
add insulation to the rafters (along with the styrofoam venting)
thinking that this approach will keep the front roof from heating up
too much. The roof already has ridge and soffit vents. Is this a
valid idea? If so, how much more insulation should I add to the
rafters? R19? R30? Thanks for the info.

Is there any ventilation being provided to the attic? It sounds like it
is too little. You should have vents low at the eves and high at the top of
the roof. If you don't or you have blocked them, that is the reason for the
problem. Don't try and heat this area until all the proper work is done,
you may be creating damage from the ice dams.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"LADYHAWKE" wrote in message
om...
Looking for some advice on adding insulation to my South facing
colonial in NH. the house is new construction (3yrs old) with a walk
up attic that has two dormered windows facing south. The attic floor
already has R30. We will eventually convert this to a living space.
In the winter, the roof tends to keep snow on the back side, and we
get long icicles from the eaves on the backside. I believe this is
due to the attic heating up due to the warmth of the sun on the front
(south)- we never have any snow on the front. What I want to do is
add insulation to the rafters (along with the styrofoam venting)
thinking that this approach will keep the front roof from heating up
too much. The roof already has ridge and soffit vents. Is this a
valid idea? If so, how much more insulation should I add to the
rafters? R19? R30? Thanks for the info.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message .. .
Is there any ventilation being provided to the attic? It sounds like it
is too little. You should have vents low at the eves and high at the top of
the roof. If you don't or you have blocked them, that is the reason for the
problem. Don't try and heat this area until all the proper work is done,
you may be creating damage from the ice dams.

--
Joseph E. Meehan


Joseph-
Yes, the roof is ventilated to standard code. Soffits in the eaves and
roof vents, even in the dormers. My convern is that I getuneven
heating, even though I have the proper insulation.

-WSC

(LADYHAWKE) wrote in message . com...
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message .. .
Is there any ventilation being provided to the attic? It sounds like it
is too little. You should have vents low at the eves and high at the top of
the roof. If you don't or you have blocked them, that is the reason for the
problem. Don't try and heat this area until all the proper work is done,
you may be creating damage from the ice dams.

--
Joseph E. Meehan


Joseph-
Yes, the roof is ventilated to standard code. Soffits in the eaves and
roof vents, even in the dormers. My convern is that I getuneven
heating, even though I have the proper insulation.

-WSC

The attic is gaining a lot of heat from the south roof surface and the dormers.
Your attic has two dormered windows facing South.
I'd suggest aluminum foil on the inside of the glass.
Insulation can be added behind that.

Visit the Building Science Corporation web site for climate specific suggestions.

TB