Drainage mats are decent, but honestly, insulation underneath is the real game changer. Helped my uncle redo his roof last fall—he had constant ice dams every winter. We put down a thin layer of rigid foam insulation under the drainage mat, and this past winter was the first time he didn't have to climb up there with a shovel. Plants matter too, but if your insulation isn't solid, you're just fighting symptoms, not the cause...
Totally agree insulation is key, but drainage mats still have their place. Saw a house last year where the insulation was solid, but they skipped proper drainage—ended up with pooling water that eventually seeped through. Insulation alone won’t help if your roof can’t shed water properly. Best bet is combining good insulation with decent drainage mats. And yeah, plants are nice, but they're more like icing on the cake...
"Insulation alone won’t help if your roof can’t shed water properly."
Exactly. A few years back, I helped fix storm damage on a house that had fantastic insulation, but zero drainage planning. Water pooled up, and eventually mold set in—wasn't pretty. Definitely worth doing both insulation and drainage right from the start...
Totally agree, drainage is key. A few quick things I've learned:
- Simple gutter guards can save headaches later.
- Rain barrels are cheap, eco-friendly, and help manage runoff.
- Regular checks after storms catch small issues before they grow... learned that the hard way.
Gutter guards can help, sure, but honestly they're not always the magic fix people think they are. I've seen plenty of cases where debris still piles up on top, causing water to overflow anyway. Sometimes a simple routine clean-out is cheaper and more effective in the long run. Rain barrels are great though—no argument there. Just saying, don't rely too heavily on gutter guards alone... regular maintenance still beats any quick fix.
