While a few inches of snow may be a nuisance to some, it presents an opportunity for those in the know.
Inspect your roof as the snow melts and compare it to your neighbors. Snow melt is one easy way to identify inadequate insulation and air leakage in your attic. The pictures below show a few examples of homes that have poor or inadequate attic insulation.
This lack of insulation wastes money and can lead to significant ice dams that cause damage to your gutters and roof. For a limited time you can still use the Federal Tax credit to insulate your roof for about 75¢ per square foot or less. Insulating your attic can have a payback period of about 2-6 years and make your home significantly more comfortable.
Here are some examples of what to look for:
This home has major ice dams that are blocking the front entrance. Sealing attic bypasses and insulating to proper levels would stop this problem and the heating bills for this home would be considerably reduced.
Below, the snow on the roof melted except for the cold outermost edges around the eaves, creating icicles and ice dams. Notice the unheated garage roof is still full of snow. The neighbors house apparently has adequate levels of insulation as they have no sign of snow melt.
The house shown below was 9 years old when the front left room was discovered to have no ceiling insulation. You can clearly see the break between the insulated and uninsulated areas.
Below is an example of GREAT INSULATION in the forefront and the other homes beyond with inferior insulation. Notice the row house in the front part of the picture, it is the only home with snow on it. The other roofs have a white coating which helps in the summer, but the others clearly aren’t insulated nearly as well as the first. Also notice the great solar tube and solar panels.
When you insulate you home you also reduce the amount of time your heating and cooling equipment run which lengthens their useful life and reduces maintenance.
Even when you can’t see the snow melt patterns on your roof, an inadequately or improperly insulated roof costs you money daily in the winter and summer! Imagine dollar bills flying off your roof hourly!
Take a look around your house and let us know if you find anything surprising!
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