# Roof with no Air Gap in Canada



## nl908 (9 mo ago)

Hi!

I'm looking for some general advice... I have a country place and the roof has no air gap. The roof has a very high pitch and there is no attic or air gap between the vaulted ceiling and the roofing. 

This is in Ontario, Canada and so the big problem I have is ice dams (and of course losing heat and causing damage to the shingles).

Luckily its usually quite dry so there doesn't seem to be evidence of condensation. But going up in the winter causes big ice damns and the roof shingles have completely deterioriated and are falling off a lot when ice slides down.

I'm wondering if you think it's worth it to build out the roof to add an air gap? I need to do something quickly and was going to replace the shingles with better quality ones but I'm a bit concerned this will just happen again.

Is it possible to simulate an airgap by adding kind-of furring strips and then a metal roof? The furring strips would adda bit of an air gap where air could circulate.

I'd love to go up in the winter... is there a way you can think of to make the roof better for winter conditions? Maybe I just should not go up in winter if I want the roof to last?

Thank you!


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

This can be done by first adding vertical battens 24in on center and then horizontal battens to attach the metal to. using a ventilated drip edge on the bottom and a ridge vent on top.


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## nl908 (9 mo ago)

roofermann said:


> This can be done by first adding vertical battens 24in on center and then horizontal battens to attach the metal to. using a ventilated drip edge on the bottom and a ridge vent on top.


Thanks so much for your response.

Do you think fiberglass shingles would just break in the short-term because of heating/cooling in the winter?


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

nl908 said:


> Thanks so much for your response.
> 
> Do you think fiberglass shingles would just break in the short-term because of heating/cooling in the winter?


They perform well in your climate but for better icedam protection you would need vertical battens and then osb/plywood sheathing on those to have an air gap from bottom to top


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