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Debating whether to insulate my garage ceiling - savings vs. risk of ice dams on the roof
I'm in the middle of a garage reno in Edmonton and I keep going back and forth on spray foaming the ceiling. On one hand, keeping the heat in would make my workshop way more usable during those -30 weeks. But my buddy who does roofing says insulating the garage ceiling can trap heat against the roof deck and cause major ice damming in our climate. He had a client who lost shingles because of it. I tried doing a cheap fiberglass batts install in one bay last fall just to test, and sure enough I got some ice buildup along the edges in February. So now I'm wondering if I should just do a cold roof approach with vents instead, or maybe there's a trick to balancing insulation with ventilation that I'm missing. Has anyone in Edmonton found a good middle ground for a heated garage that doesn't wreck your roof?
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riley_west2mo ago
Doubt it's that big of a deal, lots of guys spray foam garages here without issues.
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skyler432mo ago
Did you see that Fine Homebuilding article where they tested this? They found the key is having an air gap between the insulation and the roof sheathing, even with spray foam.
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