For me, upping the insulation made a bigger dent in ice damming than anything else.
I hear you on the insulation. I tried heat cables one winter, but my electric bill looked like a horror movie. Ended up stuffing more insulation in the attic crawlspace—way less drama since then. Still get a few icicles, but nothing like before.
I tried heat cables too—total rookie move for me. I thought they’d be a quick fix, but honestly, they barely made a dent in the ice and my power bill nearly doubled that month. Not fun. What really helped was sealing up all the weird gaps and adding more insulation like you mentioned. I live in Minnesota, so we get those wild freeze-thaw cycles, and before I did the attic work, I had monster icicles every year.
I still get some drips and icicles on the north side, especially after a big snow dump, but nothing like before. Kinda wish I’d skipped the cables altogether… they’re just sitting up there now collecting dust (and probably squirrels). Insulation took more time to install but paid off way faster in comfort and bills. For anyone with an older house like mine (built in the 60s), it’s worth poking around up there to see how thin things are.
Heat cables are like putting a Band-Aid on a leaky dam—been there, regretted that. I tried them on my old ranch house (also 60s vintage), and all I got was a higher bill and some very confused raccoons. Ended up switching to more insulation and air sealing, and wow, what a difference. Still get the occasional icicle, but nothing like the frozen waterfalls I used to have. If you ever get the itch to go greener, I’ve seen folks around here try green roofs for extra insulation—though shoveling snow off sedum is a whole new adventure...
all I got was a higher bill and some very confused raccoons
That’s exactly what happened to me, minus the raccoons—just squirrels looking for warmth. Heat cables felt like tossing money out the window every winter. Upgrading insulation wasn’t cheap up front, but my heating bill dropped and the house actually feels cozy now. Green roof sounds cool, but I can barely keep up with regular shoveling as it is...
Heat cables felt like tossing money out the window every winter.
Same here—ran them for two seasons and barely noticed a difference, except my wallet got lighter. I bit the bullet on attic insulation last year. Not cheap, but now the furnace isn’t running nonstop and no more weird cold drafts. Green roof sounds fun in theory, but with our snow load? I’d need a herd of goats to keep up...