if you had snow and all the snow is off your roof and the house nex store has snow do we need insulation?
remember the front of your house is the back of your neighbors house across the street when looking at the roof
That is very observant of you. Yes this could indicate that you are losing more heat than normal through your roof. Though, you do want to be careful in the placement of any new insulation, you will want to avoid any vents that are there for ventilation of heat and moisture in the summer and any recessed lighting fixtures as to not cause an overheating problem with them. This is a good investment and it will pay you back in heating and cooling cost for years to come.
Yes,you do need to insulate your attic. Heat rises. If you look around the neighborhood and everyone else has snow on there roof and you do not than you need to insulate your attic because your heat is going through the roof and melting the snow off of it. Easy job to do.
You hit the nail on the head and is a direct indication that you need more insulation. As a matter of fact, many carpentry companies send the sales force out in the winter (When new home building is slower) to look for houses with no to little snow on their roofs compared to their neighbors. This is an indication that the roof is allowing to much heat to escape which then melts the snow on the roof. But take one other thing into account. Was the wind blowing? If the wind is blowing, it could blow snow off your roof and not your neighbor due to his location, obstructions(such as tree's, other buildings) or design of his roof. lastly, depending on the orientation of your home, more sunlight can hit your roof than your neighbors allowing more snow to melt. If your roof is darker compared to your neighbor, it can increase your snow melt compared to your neighbor. If the snow is recent and your neighbor has snow on the roof and you don't, chances are that you need insulation as $$$ is escaping out of your ceiling.
