Skyridge Ricky's Guide: How to Stop Ice Dams in Utah with Better Attic Venting
By Skyridge Ricky • February 26, 2025 • 11 min read
If I see one more person standing on a ladder in January with a hammer and a screwdriver trying to chip ice off their gutters, I'm going to lose my mind! It's so dangerous, and honestly, you're usually doing more damage to your shingles than the ice is.
I've spent my fair share of winters looking at "ice caves" hanging off roofs in Park City and Salt Lake. Most people think the ice is the problem—but the ice is just the symptom. The real problem is happening in your attic! When your attic is too warm, it melts the snow on your roof, and that water freezes when it hits your cold eaves. It's a vicious cycle that can ruin your drywall and rot your rafters. Let me show you how to fix the source so you can put that hammer away for good.
The "Cold Roof" Secret (Why Your Attic Needs to Be a Fridge)
Here is a teacher-moment: in the winter, you want your attic to be the exact same temperature as the air outside. If it's 20 degrees in your driveway, it should be 20 degrees above your ceiling. Why? Because if your roof deck is cold, the snow on top stays frozen. It doesn't melt, it doesn't run down to the eaves, and it doesn't turn into a block of ice in your gutters.
I remember a house in Heber where the owner was getting massive ice dams every single winter. They had two feet of insulation in the floor of the attic, so they thought they were set. But when I crawled up there, I realized they had zero "intake" air. The builder had stuffed insulation right over the soffit vents!
The heat from the house was trapped in the attic like a sauna. It was so hot up there I could have grown tomatoes in December! We cleared the soffits and installed "baffles"—those are little plastic chutes that keep the insulation away from the vents. Two weeks later, the snow on their roof stayed powdery and the ice dams were gone. That's the power of a "cold roof."
Professional Takeaways
- Skyridge Ricky's Rule: Your attic should be the same temperature as the outside air
- Insulation stops heat from leaving your rooms; venting stops it from staying in the attic
- Baffles are essential plastic chutes that keep your airflow paths open
- Check your soffit vents—if they are painted shut, your roof is "suffocating"
The Ventilation Balance (Intake vs. Exhaust)
Ventilation is all about a "balanced" flow of air. Think of it like a straw. If you plug one end, you can't suck anything through it. Your attic needs "intake" air coming in from the bottom (your soffits) and "exhaust" air going out the top (your ridge vent or "turtle" vents).
In Utah, I see a lot of "venting soup." That's when a homeowner has three or various different types of exhaust vents on one roof. Maybe they have a ridge vent *and* a power fan. That's a bad idea! The power fan will actually start sucking air *in* through the ridge vent instead of the soffits. It shorts out the system and creates "dead air" pockets where moisture builds up.
I always recommend a continuous ridge vent for most Utah homes. It's the most natural way for hot air to escape. But it only works if those soffit vents are clear! I've seen hundreds of homes where the painters literally painted over the soffit screens, clogging them solid. If your intake is blocked, your exhaust vents are just decorations.
Professional Takeaways
- Intake (Soffit) + Exhaust (Ridge) = A balanced, healthy roof
- Never mix different types of exhaust vents on the same attic space
- Power fans often do more harm than good by causing negative pressure
- Ridge vents provide the most consistent, natural airflow for Utah homes
Why Your "Can Lights" Might Be Killing Your Roof
This is a detail that most roofers miss, but I see it all the time. Those recessed "can lights" in your kitchen or hallway are like little chimneys that dump heat straight into your attic. If they aren't "IC-Rated" and sealed tight, they heat up the roof deck directly above them.
I worked on a house in Draper that had a perfect line of ice dams right above the master bathroom. When I looked in the attic, I found four old-style can lights that were glowing like heat lamps. They were melting the snow in circles right above them!
The fix? We call them "hats." You put a fire-rated insulated cover over the light housing in the attic and seal the edges with foam. It stops the "bypass" air from escaping. Combine that with proper R-value insulation (in Utah, we want at least R-49 or R-60), and you've got a roof that stays cold and a house that stays warm. It saves you money on your gas bill *and* saves you from a $10,000 interior water damage repair.
Professional Takeaways
- Skyridge Ricky's Tip: Seal your can lights with fire-rated insulated covers ("hats")
- In Utah, aim for R-49 to R-60 insulation in your attic floor
- Foam-seal all wire and pipe penetrations to stop warm air leaks
- Better insulation saves your shingles from "cooking" in the winter
Wrapping it up
Ice dams aren't an act of God—they're an act of bad airflow! Don't spend another winter worrying about your gutters falling off under the weight of a thousand-pound icicle. Reach out to the crew at Sky Ridge. We'll crawl into your attic (even the tight, dusty corners I hate!) and find out why it's running hot. Whether you need better baffles, a ridge vent, or a "hat" for your can lights, we'll get it sorted before the next big storm hits the Wasatch. Stay safe, stay dry, and keep your ladder in the garage this winter!
