I hate to say this Steve, but unless you eventually get some sort of ventilation, between the top of the insulation and the underside of the roof, you're going to have the same ice situation. It's unavoidable. Snow lands on the warm roof,,,,melts from the bottom,,,water flows down towards eaves, and once that water reaches the eaves, it refreezes because there's no heat-loss to warm those over-hanging eaves from underneath. Water keeps coming,, , freezes,,,builds up the ice dam until the back of that dam reaches the warm part of the roof, and everywhere behind that dam is standing water. Sunshine really has very little to do with it.
Without proper ventilation, the only ice-prevention "fix", is to shovel the roof frequently, and not let the snow build up..
The next time you're up on the snow-covered roof, have a look at the granular ice-layer at the bottom of the snow-pack. That's where the snow has melted from contact with the warm roof. Snow "reflects" sunlight on top, while the blanket of snow traps heat underneath, melting from the bottom.
Hi Drifter, I don't know if you're still here but wow do we have mega icicles on the roof. I'll try and get some pics. The guy that put of the roof says there is nothing he can do and that we have proper insulation. But in a few weeks we will have greek columns by our from door. No idea how to fix it if the roof guy is clueless.
"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England." "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
