Drafty Cabin in Ely, MN Insulated to Save Energy and Stop Ice Dams

This Ely, MN cabin was drafty during the winter and humid during the summer. The owners knew they needed to do something to improve the cabin's energy efficiency and get rid of pesky ice dams during the winter months.

DBS Design Specialist Henry Jungbauer visited the cabin and provided a thorough inspection, including the attic and crawl space. Henry designed an insulation project that would prevent energy loss in the form of the stack effect. The stack effect is essentially the process of outside air entering your home via your basement or crawl space, in this case, traveling through your home and leaking back outside via your attic. This free flow of air means the cabin was working hard to keep itself warm, driving energy bills up and creating ice dams.

DBS Foreman Orrin Sundberg led this insulation project of this Ely, MN cabin. After insulating the crawl space rim joists with spray foam, our insulation crew moved into the attic. They removed the existing batting insulation and air-sealed the space with an inch of closed-cell spray foam. From there, they applied 18 inches of Tru-Soft™ cellulose. They also installed Tru-Soft™ in the attic's hard-to-reach vaulted ceiling using a technique called dense packing, to provide a consistent radiant barrier.

The insulation installed in the attic and crawl space will prevent the stack effect from reoccurring, resulting in less money spent on propane. You'll see in the before and after photos the difference in ice dam build-up from 1 year to the next.

The homeowners were happy with the work our insulation crew did and now have a solid solution to stand up to cold Minnesota winters.