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Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

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Dominokat

Premium Member

Insulation

Hi--
Its cold outside! Normally in this case, my Monitor heater would be working all the time (Ie: never shut off, just idle along). But today it is actually cycling on and off because it isn't working to keep up.

The difference, is that there is 6-8 inches of snow on my roof acting like insulation.

I've always known my house isn't' well insulated. It has insulation. Most of it has maybe 6 inches on the roof. But some of it has been displaced by mice and other rodents and a little water damage over time. As there is ZERO space for a person to get in and replace the insulation (sheetrock, insulation, roof) and no crawl space. How does anyone add too, or replace insulation? People recommended blown in insulation, but how does that spread out with road blocks from existing insulation?

The one part I have going for me is my kitchen addition. That has only 4 inches of ceiling insulation, but there is a crawlspace that someone can get in and add more.

Any ideas from anyone as to how to add more insulation WITHOUT having to rip my ceiling and wall out to do it?

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
·Charter

nunya

MVM

There's really no magical solution. If there is already insulation in there, it's going to prevent more from being added (foam or cellulose). They'd have to make a bunch of holes anyway.

About the only thin you could do is fir down and insulate the gap. That would be kind of silly.

The next time you get a new roof, they could rip the sheathing up and do it from that side. It would probably end up costing more than ripping out the drywall.

One thing I saw done on a historic farm house (vinyard) was this: They stripped the old roof material down to the sheathing (decking), laid down new felt paper, and installed SIP panels directly on top. An engineer designed and directly oversaw the roof. There was some "probing" to determine the condition of the existing rafters, but not much damage was done.

I was thinking a cost effective solution might be to do something similar on the "cheap" the next time you need a roof. Expose the deck, lay down 3" rigid foam panels (R15), and re-deck with OSB. Of course, you'd probably need to consult a real professional, probably an engineer, to check the roof load and building code requirements.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

Thats kind of what I was afraid of.
At some point soon, I will have to replace my roof. But that is on hold as I have no money for it. It's holding on and not leaking. It is over 30 years old and when I went shopping for a new insuance company, no one would take it unless I replace the roof. I'm not sure why my current company isn't rasing a stink, but I'm not going to rattle the cage.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

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A 30 year old roof?

Well... I have heard of certain roofs being made to last 50 years, so I guess it MIGHT be what you have.....

OR

You are my neighbor.

I see you roof, it's disgusting! There are plants growing out of it! Just because water isn't flooding in your bedroom doesn't mean that this 6 foot ice dam isn't cause for worry!

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

Actually the roof looks pretty damn good!

It once had an ice jam problem about 8 years ago. About 6 feet of the edge was torn up and an ice shield (?) was installed.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

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The irony is that roof ice issues are often due to insulation problems.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

And that takes us back to my original question. Which was kind of answered by nunya See Profile in that, there is no easy fix without some big ripping and tearing.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

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I live in Phoenix metro. Only places i know of with no attic access are flat roofs. Doubt you have flat roofs where there is snow?
Only few times I visited back east with no attics are when attics where living spaces so of course no crawl space.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

Click for full size
Click for full size
It's night time. So my pictures are not great. But you will get the idea.
The inside one is showing a high ceiling. No attic, no crawl space.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

1 recommendation

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

If your house is not that old your cathedral ceiling cavity between the roof and interior sheet-rock is probably well insulated with as much insulation as needed or can be stuffed in the cavity. You can kind of judge by the snow on the roof.

I have a room like that and all is well.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

said by Jack_in_VA:

.... You can kind of judge by the snow on the roof.

How's that?

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

said by Dominokat:

said by Jack_in_VA:

.... You can kind of judge by the snow on the roof.

How's that?

If frost and snow melt quickly on that section of the roof there is not enough insulation.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

Does it matter this is north facing?

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO

nunya to Dominokat

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In the picture - did you knock the snow off the roof like that or did it melt like that?
It also looks like you currently have an ice dam situation.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

Yes, I took a "roof rake" to it.
The rain gutters are indeed, iced up.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

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i see a ghost in your window. Some spray foam should help with the poltergeist.
Liberty
Premium Member
join:2005-06-12
Arizona

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When I bought my late 50s ranch style house, it needed a roof
There were a few sheets of roofing needing replacement too

When we pulled up the bad sheets I got the idea to run some grounded wires from the outside breaker box area down inside several interior walls including extras to kitchen and laundry room
Had 100 AMP fused 2 wire

The original roof insulation consisted of a layer of like heavy duty aluminum foil stapled to mid way on rafters
( Tucson, Az )
I pulled up enough sheets to be able to slide real insulation in there - not ideal installation but beats the heck out what i had & all I could afford at time

Took 2 years before I got the first circuits trimmed out and last one didn't get finished for the electrician to light them all up for another 3 years on new 200 AMP service panel

norton
join:2005-08-03
Howard City, MI

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i was thinking roof issues are caused by poor ventilation. he needs more insulation but roof has to breathe.

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

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Around here we can always tell who has good insulation and who does not.

When it snows, the houses with good insulation will keep the snow on their roof until the temp is above freezing. The houses lacking insulation all the snow on the roof melts and huge icicles form at the edges from all the dripping.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

So since the snow isn't really melting on my roof, perhaps the insulation isn't that bad after all?
As for the huge icicles, I'm wondering if the rain gutters (frozen solid) are preventing that from happening?

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

TheTechGuru

Member

said by Dominokat:

So since the snow isn't really melting on my roof, perhaps the insulation isn't that bad after all?
As for the huge icicles, I'm wondering if the rain gutters (frozen solid) are preventing that from happening?

It's either not that bad OR you're not keeping the inside of your place very warm.

Avg is 72 inside.

Dominokat
"Hi"
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join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

Dominokat

Premium Member

70 during the day and 60 at night.

cowboyro
Premium Member
join:2000-10-11
CT

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to Dominokat
said by Dominokat:

So since the snow isn't really melting on my roof, perhaps the insulation isn't that bad after all?

Or it's very cold outside and the heat that escapes can't melt the snow. Ideally compare the snow on the roof with your neighbors that have the same roof orientation, if your roof gets clean first then your insulation is worse...
8744675
join:2000-10-10
Decatur, GA

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If there's snow sitting on your roof, it must be well insulated. Otherwise all the heat in your home rising into the peak would be melting the snow on the roof.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo

Member

said by 8744675:

If there's snow sitting on your roof, it must be well insulated. Otherwise all the heat in your home rising into the peak would be melting the snow on the roof.

Not true.
My neighbor has a lot of snow on his roof.
He also has a 20 feet wide row of icicles that are on average 4-5 feet long.

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

TheTechGuru

Member

said by alkizmo:

Not true.
My neighbor has a lot of snow on his roof.
He also has a 20 feet wide row of icicles that are on average 4-5 feet long.

So I guess icicle length is a better determining factor than snow accumulation.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo

Member

said by TheTechGuru:

So I guess icicle length is a better determining factor than snow accumulation.

No, what I'm saying is that just because there is snow doesn't mean the insulation is any good.

We had 1.5 foot of snow fall in 1 day last week.
It will take a while for it to melt, but it's melting alright.