Attic Insulation & Venting
Blown-in top-ups, air sealing, baffles and balanced venting. We fix the reason your roof edge keeps freezing, not just the symptom on the eave.
Why it matters here
An ice dam forms when heat escaping into your attic melts the snow on the upper roof, that meltwater runs down to the cold overhang, and refreezes into a ridge of ice at the eave. Water then backs up behind that ridge and goes under the shingles. New shingles do not fix it. Fixing the heat loss does.
This is a Calgary specialty because of the chinook. Cities with a stable cold winter get one long freeze. Calgary gets dozens of melt-and-refreeze cycles, and every one of them is another chance for water to work backwards under the roof edge, into the sheathing, down the wall cavity and into the soffit. We see the result every spring: rotted fascia, stained bedroom ceilings on the north side, and shingles at the eave that have been lifted a quarter inch by ice.
Insulation slows heat, it does not stop air. We seal top plates, pot lights, plumbing stacks and the attic hatch first, or the new insulation just filters warm air.
Blown insulation pushed into the eave chokes the intake vents and makes ice damming worse. Baffles keep a clear air path from soffit to ridge.
Too many roof vents with too little soffit intake pulls conditioned air out of the house. We calculate the ratio instead of guessing.
If shingles are coming off anyway, attic venting, fan ducting and insulation are dramatically cheaper to correct at the same time.
Our process
Twenty minutes in an attic tells us more about a homeowner's ice dam and heating bill than an hour on the roof. We are looking for insulation depth and coverage, frost or staining on the underside of the sheathing, daylight at the soffits, fan ducts dumping into the space, and rust or mould around the roof vents.
Then you get photographs of all of it. Attic work is invisible after it is finished, which unfortunately makes it easy to sell badly, so we document the before and after and you keep the file.
Current insulation type and depth, air leak points, soffit and ridge airflow, moisture staining, fan ducting, hatch condition.
Top plates, wire and pipe penetrations, pot lights, chimney chases and the attic access sealed with the appropriate materials.
Baffles at every rafter bay over the exterior wall, blocked soffits opened, and intake-to-exhaust ratio corrected.
Blown-in insulation installed to a marked, verified depth across the whole attic floor, with depth markers left in place for proof.
Alberta builds to the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition, in force since May 1, 2024, and new construction attic insulation levels in this climate are far above what a 1965 bungalow was built with. An existing home is not required to be brought to current code because you top up an attic, but current levels are a sensible target: getting a Calgary attic to roughly R-50 or better, with the air sealing done first, is the single best-value energy upgrade most older houses here can buy.
Depth is where corners get cut, because nobody climbs up to check. Blown insulation settles, and a contractor who installs to a bag count rather than a measured depth can leave you 20 percent short without you ever knowing. We mark depth with rulers stapled to the trusses and photograph them at completion. If the number on your invoice is R-50, you can see R-50.
Coverage matters as much as depth. The corners, the area above the exterior walls and the region around the attic hatch are where heat actually escapes, and they are also the awkward places to reach. Those are exactly the spots that create the eave ice ridge, so those are the spots we care most about doing properly.
Stop paying to heat your attic
We photograph what is up there, measure what you have, and give you a straight recommendation with a price. Free inspection, no obligation, no pressure.
Get Your Free InspectionQuestions homeowners actually ask
It helps a lot, but only alongside air sealing and clear soffit venting. Insulation alone, blown in over blocked soffits and unsealed pot lights, can actually make ice damming worse. The three have to be done together.
Aim for around R-50 or better on the attic floor, with air sealing done first. Many 1950s to 1970s Calgary homes are still sitting at R-12 to R-20.
Yes, if you can. Roof vents, bathroom fan ducting and baffles are all far cheaper to correct while the shingles are off, and it means one crew and one visit instead of two.
Attic work sits between roofing and building envelope. These are the pages worth reading next.
Owner-led, no subcontractors
Tell us the age of the house and what you are seeing — ice at the eaves, cold rooms, high gas bills, ceiling stains. The owner follows up within one business day.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
★★★★★ 5.0 out of 5 — 10 Google reviews
Every review below is a verified Google review of Mountain Standard Roofing Ltd. Backed by our 10-year workmanship warranty and our $500 price-beat guarantee.
★★★★★
“Mountain Standard Roofing handled my storm damage roof replacement perfectly. They worked directly with my insurance company, handled all the paperwork, and made the entire process stress-free. The crew was professional, efficient, and left my yard clean.”
Nikki Rick — Google review
★★★★★
“John and his team were awesome to deal with. He did my roof and siding and they finished a day ahead of schedule. Not only was the service awesome but the price was much better than competitors.”
Kristoffer — Google review
★★★★★
“The owner John is very communicative and always took time to answer our questions. Our roof was re-done in the agreed timeline and for the agreed upon price. Would highly recommend doing business with Mountain Standard Roofing.”
Ryan Van Boven — Google review