Just stumbled across this local news story about a family whose roof got totally wrecked by ice dams last winter. Apparently, they had ridge vents installed thinking it'd help with ventilation and prevent ice buildup, but it didn't exactly pan out that way. The article said something about ridge vents not always being enough to stop ice dams if insulation or sealing isn't done properly. Honestly, I always thought ridge vents were like the gold standard for roof ventilation, you know? But now I'm second-guessing myself.
We had ridge vents put in a couple years ago after our neighbor recommended them. Haven't had any major issues yet, but now I'm wondering if we're just lucky or if there's something else we should be doing to avoid a similar disaster. Curious if anyone else saw this story or has had experiences with ridge vents and ice dams. Are ridge vents really effective enough on their own, or is there more to it than that?
