Insulation Installer Idiocy

Today's insulation call was one to address the winter ice dams. The client has always had massive icicles hanging from her gutters. As you may have read in a previous blog, ice dams can be caused by a lack of insulation or improper attic venting at the soffit. This attic had both...

Upon climbing up into the attic and noticing the well over 3" of fiberglass, HZG scurried to the soffit area to see what was there... How about a little bit of nothing. There was a soffit vent, however it was covered with well over 2" of fiberglass. Just enough to create damage. There was also zero ventilation in the attic anywhere else. So the minimal ventilation was covered by minimal insulation. Perfect.

Our recommendation to this homeowner is to install baffles, allowing the soffits to breath and then adding an additional R27 out to the edge. We would also install two gable vents to allow the air to rise up and out - not just up. Pretty simple, but apparently someone wasn't thinking at the time.