Attic Insulation Case Studies: Ice Dam Issue in Pinckney, MI
Challenge
The homeowner explained that they have been having problems with ice dams in one of the bedrooms of the home and that all of the bedrooms were cold during the winter months and hot during the summer. Some of the symptoms that were associated with the problems the homeowner pointed out were large amounts of ice building up on the gutter in one corner of the house. The drywall ceiling in the bedroom adjacent to the ice dams outside, was wet in the corner from water getting under the shingles and gripping down to the ceiling below. The problem was caused by a lack of insulation in the eaves of the corner of the attic causing conditioned warm air to radiate into the attic and melt the snow on the roof. The homeowner chose to have the problem fixed because she did not want any more water damage to the ceiling and she also wanted to upgrade the insulation in the attic to make the other bedrooms in the home more comfortable year-around. The homeowner's biggest concern with the problem was that she was worried the ice dam was only going to get worse and cause even more damage to the ceiling and she would have a potential mold problem.
Solution
The homeowner chose our company because we were able to explain to her while doing our tour for 2 and using our Flir camera why she was having issues with the ice dams and she was able to see how with her own eyes, that not only having enough insulation in the eaves was causing warm air to radiate into the attic and melt the snow on the roof. Our solution was to remove all of the fiberglass insulation that she had on the attic floor. Air seal all of the penetrations in the attic floor (top plate, bond plates, pipe and wire penetrations ect.). Air seal and insulate her hatch cover properly. Lastly, insulate the attic floor with Cellulose insulation to an R49 R-value. One of the challenges that we faced during the installation process was the installation process was the insulation hose clogged multiple times because of a crack in one of the brass fittings on our water collar. We used a combination of products to achieve our end results. We used 1" foamboard for our insulation collar around the hatch. DuroVent venting baffles, SilverGlo, weather-stripping, ZypFoam and TruSoft Cellulose. The homeowner now has energy star rated attic insulation and is no longer experiencing cold rooms. She is no longer getting ice dams on the gutter in the corner of her house.
