I have a 1950's ranch (~2300sqft) in northeast Ohio that is shaped like a 'T'. The roof has a 4/12 pitch roof with 2 & 3 foot overhangs with open soffits. About 6 years ago the previous owners reroofed and installed a ridge vent and one power vent (of course the motor needs to be replaced). The top section of the 'T' has gable vents on both ends and really has no problems. The long leg of the 'T' has the garage on the end of it with no gable vent to the outside, although there is a screened opening between the living area and the garage where a gable vent would be. The power vent is in the middle of this section of the house. This is also the area where I have problems with ice dams in the winter. The attic and walls contain blown-in insulation. The attic insulation has become compressed and is too shallow. As I stated before, the soffits are open on the exterior and closed off above the wallplate between the rafters. So, in the winter there is no cold air flowing up through the soffits, along the underside of the roof and out the ridge rent. In addition to this there are several recessed ceiling lights that help heat up the attic. All are rated for insulation contact but I don't think they are supposed to be completely covered? So before I have a parade of contractors come through with an equal number of contrary opinions on what the "proper" solution is, I like to gather comments and suggestions from members of this forum. I also need to keep in mind that my wife may try to impose restrictions on anything that is visible from the outside. My ideas: 1) Add soffit vents. This would involve drilling/cutting holes in the vertical member that closes off the rafter and covering them with louvered vent covers. From the equations that I've found it would be necessary to place a vent in between every rafter. This is one of the things my wife does not like. 2) Add baffles inside the attic to keep the insulation away from the soffit vents. 3) Have more insulation blown in to increase the attic insulation depth to 6 to 8 inches. I don't remember the recommended thickness for my area. 4) Not sure that there is anything I can do about the recessed lights. Not sure how much they contribute to the ice dam problem. 5) Replace the motor in the power vent and possibly replace the thermostat with a humidistat. Wife does not like the looks of this vent, no way she goes for a larger turbine vent. 6) I also need to properly vent the drier and 2 bathrooms. The bathrooms vent directly into the attic and the drier into the garage. I need to find a way to keep the roof from looking like a vent farm. Thanks,

Thanks for past advice, this long weekend I am finally going to get a lot done in the basement with everyone away. Question though. I need the following advice: Since I am going with a subfloor (ply and 2x1) I will put a 6mm sheet under this. Do I uild peripharel stud wall first thn subfloor after inside this, or put down subfloor first then stud wall after. I will have no walls disecting the area, just the walls against the concrete? After that, I have a small landing and steps to build (about 3 feet high) do I build this onto the wood subfloor or onto the concrete floor and work the subfloor around it? Cheers, Eamonn