Attic Insulation

Typical Ice Dam Condition

Becky and I made a trip to South Bend last week and she pointed out the icicles on many of the houses and buildings.  This led to a discussion on ice dams, which I discussed here previously.   There’s another nice picture here.

It was one of those days where it was easy to see which buildings and homes had good attic insulation and which didn’t.   The temperatures were just below freezing and it had been nearly a week since the last snow.  Those structures with poor attic insulation stood out easily amongst the sea of white roofs.

The fact that heat rises makes it fairly easy to understand that the majority of a structure’s heat loss is through the roof.  In most homes, adding attic insulation is a fairly economical way to save energy costs.  When done correctly in conjunction with proper venting, it can prevent or cure ice dam issues as well.  This is green that saves green!

Icicles are pretty, but they may well be the sign of underlying problems and potentially the precursor to water damage.  Take a look at your home the next time you pull into your neighborhood.  If your house has lots of pretty icicles and is the only one without snow on the roof, you may have an insulation deficit.