The winter of '11 was the worst in our 25 yrs in MA. We were closing on the house on2/28/11 and we had 5 weeks in a row with major storms. I had 4' of snow on the roof and in 25 yrs had never had a problem with ice dams or interior damage. Yes, clean the gutter and downspouts. Yes, check to make sure the insulation is laid correctly in the attic. Neighbors all over the area were loosing downspouts and gutters and suffering internal damage. You couldn't find peopel to beat the ice off the roof and if you could it frequently resulted in damage to the shingles/down sports and gutters. I had to have a contractor in to repair a wall and ceiling in the M bath. With the closing just a couple weeks away I had to do something. I took 100' of garden hose, connected it to my tankless water heater. Installed a spray nozzle with a shower like pattern. Oh, first I shoveled the roof off. No small job on a 3000sq ft house. I began spraying hot water at the low end ( downspout end) of the roof. I ran hot water for 3 1/2 hours. At the end the roof was as clean as a summer day. There was no shingle or gutter damage. The neighbors, who thought and were possible correct, that I was nuts were asking for my help. Two things. Spray the water from the outside to the inside. Otherwise you will build up water above the ice dam creating more problems than you solve. Cut bread loaves, again to allow water to run off. One more thing. The back of my house was three stories to the ground. The front only two. Don't fall off the roof. A side benefit was that the water run off melted the ice in the driveway. This just demonstrates that well and truly, there is more than one way to skin a cat!

Kalining, I live in Minnesota, your southern neighbor. I have been very fortunate in regards to flooding. Since I have only A/C in my attic (just installed last fall) I shouldnÂt have too many problems, besides, my family and I have lived through the miserable hot and humid summers with only a window A/C unit, the trouble I went through getting all the venting and insulation up there will be worth it. The best thing about A/C in the attic is that cold air naturally goes down and doesnÂt have to be forced up with big blowers and having the heat returns in the ceilings pulls all the hotter air out without removing all the cold air with it Not all houses are new and some, mine especially, cannot handle ductwork unless I lower my ceiling in my basement, which is also a living space, to where I would have to duck down to walk through it. I have a boiler in the basement for all my baseboard heat and also for a newly installed radiant floor heat in my new addition that works very well. Our baseboards are mostly under the windows on the exterior walls just like your vents on your system because the biggest heat loss occurs at the windows. Our floors in our house are just as warm as the floors of houses that use forced air systems. If the radiant floor heating continues to go well in our new addition then in a couple of years I will run PEX through our joists in the basement, under the existing floor, just like our addition.

You don't start, stop and start B-Vent, PERIOD. They screwed up with the roof jack alignment and it should be corrected. 2" offset is too small for adj 45's though. There is flexible double wall connectors, usually used at the appliance but without some reroofing perhaps the best thing here is to use one. Some manufacturers pipe are universal and some not, you will have to check your brand. Here is a link that might be useful: H&C flex b-vent

JROGJROG, YOU HAVE A 4 TON COOLING COIL THAT OF COURSE IS NOT CONNECTED TO YOUR 100K FURNACE. WAS A LOAD CALC DONE ON THIS PLACE I HAVE A LINK FOR YOU BELOW FOR THAT MATTER. I INSTALL THE EWC DAMPERS , THEY ARE THE BEST TO MY EXPERIENCE. I AM QUESTIONING A LITTLE ABOUT ABOUT THE BY-PASS ABOVE THE FURNACE. DO YOU HAVE ANY AIR FLOW ISSUES ALSO? BACK TO YOUR QUESTIONS. THIS IS NOT A SAFE HVAC INSTALLATION. SERVIABILITY IS VERY POOR. THE INSULATION ON THE DUCT OF R4.2 IS OBSOLETE IN CODE, IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS IT SHOULD BE R8 MINIMUM IN AN ATTIC. IF YOU WERE TO CLOSE IN THE FURNACE INTO A " MECHANICAL CLOSET' YOU WOULD NEED TO BRING IN COMBUSTION AIR BECAUSE THE FURNACE WOULD BE IN A CONFINED SPACE. tHAT MIGHT HELP. YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO INSULATE MORE AROUND YOUR REGISTERS THAT ARE JUST METAL, THEY SHOULD INSULATED UP TO CODE. I SURE HATE TO SEE THIS WHEN THEY HOOK UP YOUR AC. INSULATING THE STAIR CASE IS A GOOD MOVE, BUT THE LIGHT BOXES I WOULD BE CAREFUL OF, FOR SOME MAY HAVE CLEARANCE REQUIREMMENTS Here is a link that might be useful: ACCA AND ASHRAE CERTIFIED LOAD CALCS WITH DUCT DESIGNS