Insulating and Ventilating Attics

Late Fall is an excellent time of the year to inspect the attic and if necessary make some minor improvements.  A well-insulated and ventilated attic can save you a lot of money and aggravation.  The attic can be a significant contributor to heat loss from your home if not properly insulated. Also, if the attic is not properly ventilated your roof can become susceptible to ice damming. Ice damming can lead to major damage inside the home.

Once there, the water finds cracks and nail holes to slip through. Finally the water works its way down onto the ceiling sheetrock and begins to cause major damage inside the home.

By ensuring a well insulated and ventilated attic ice damming can be eliminated. So when inspecting your attic, make sure you have sufficient insulation and that it has not been compressed down. Also make sure soffit, ridge and gable end vents are free from material that can clog them, e.g. Bees nests. You may also want to consider installing additional venting if your roof has had a history of ice damming even after additional attic insulation has been installed. Finally, if the insulation layer between the ceiling joists is jammed up tight against the inside slope of the roof you should install attic foam rafter vents or chutes. The rafter vents will ensure that air flows smoothly between the soffit and ridge vents.