My 200 year old TF house was built so the rafters meet the outer edge of the eaves beam and the planking seals it tightly. consequently the eaves have ice build up. I need to replace the whole roof, planking and shingles, but the rafters are sound.
My Question:
If we install a spacer on top of the rafters, raising the planking just enough to allow ventilation from the edge of the roof, will that be a good approach to the problem? Will it be structurally sound? Is there a better approach?

I'm not a TF construction person. I have a good background in woodworking and maintenance. I will probably hire people to do the work because I'm not able to take on a project of this magnitude, but I want to keep control of the way it's done. People in the past have badly cobbled repairs on this roof, and I want it done properly this time. I'm prepared to pay for the job done right.
I have a .PDF drawing of the way the roof is built if anyone wants to see it. It can be sent as an attachment. Needs Adobe Acrobat or similar to open the file.

Regards, Don

Hey Don,

I have a bit of experience roofing and just this summer I did did a roof where the inside ceiling was attached directly to the roof rafters and isulation filled the entire gap between the ceilng and the planking (or sheathing), thus no air circulation. Combine this with inadequate ventilation at the ridge and the consequence was complete rotting of a good part of the sheathing at the top of the roof, some of the rafters were in pretty tough shape too.

I spoke to a very reputable roofer in my area and he recommended solving the problem in just the way you mentioned. I took off all the old sheathing, and nailed 2x2's all the way along all of the rafters from the edge to the ridge and then applied all new planking. There are some products that you can get to put in the hole made by the 2x2 spacers so that bugs and such don't get in them. You might also want to consider venting your ridge.

This was a stick frame home but I hope the situation was similar enough to your own to be of some help.

Drop me a line if you have any questions

Nathan,
Thanks for your reply. I was beginning to think I wouldn't get any here. I'm encouraged by your answer and I think I'll go ahead with plans to deal with it in that manner.

Regards,

Don

Setuagenarian living in a 200 year ols TF house in Waterford, PA.

Glad the info was of use to you. The Product I used to fill the gap at the edge was made by the company that makes Coravent, a ridge venting system that resembles corrugated cardboard but is made of plastic. I don't know if they have a name for the product I used for the edge, but if interested you should ask at your local roofing supply center. The product I used was about 1" thick, 1.5" wide and 4' in length. I cut it to length between the rafters and stacked it with a 1x2 to fill the gap.

Good luck!

Nathan

Nathan,
I've been doing some research and stumbled on some products that have all the components factory assembled, ready for fastening to the old decking. One is called Cool Vent and another is called Cornell Ventilated roof insulation.
Do you know about them?
Does Anyone?
I wouldn't mind paying more if I got a better result.

Regards,

Don