I've seen steep roofs with pretty bad ice dams too, so I'm not totally sold on pitch alone being a magic bullet. Sure, it helps shed snow faster, but if your attic insulation or ventilation is poor, you're still gonna have issues. Totally agree on gutter maintenance though—seen way too many cases where just cleaning out leaves would've prevented a mess. I'd say barrier placement matters, but focusing solely on height might be missing the bigger picture...
Yeah, pitch alone definitely isn't a cure-all. When we first moved in, our roof was pretty steep, and I figured we'd be fine. But after the first big snowfall, we had ice dams like you wouldn't believe...turns out our attic insulation was practically nonexistent. Once we beefed up the insulation and improved ventilation, things got way better. So I'd say barrier placement is important, but it's just one piece of the puzzle—gotta look at the whole system.
"So I'd say barrier placement is important, but it's just one piece of the puzzle—gotta look at the whole system."
Yeah, totally agree with this. When we first bought our place, I thought the ice barrier was gonna be the magic fix too. Had it installed exactly according to recommendations, but still ended up with ice dams that first winter. Turns out our ventilation was pretty lousy—barely any airflow in the attic. Once we added some soffit vents and a ridge vent, things improved dramatically.
It's easy to get caught up thinking one thing will solve all your problems, but roofs are tricky...everything's connected. Good insulation, proper ventilation, and a well-placed barrier all work together. Sounds like you're on the right track now though—nice job figuring it out.
"Turns out our ventilation was pretty lousy—barely any airflow in the attic."
That's a good catch. Seen plenty of attics where folks nail the barrier placement but overlook airflow. Curious if you noticed condensation issues before adding the ridge vent...sometimes that's an early warning sign.
Had a similar issue at our place—thought the barrier was enough, but started noticing frost forming on the nails inside the attic during winter. Took adding soffit vents along with the ridge vent to finally clear it up. Did you check your soffits too?
