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What can you tell me about ice dams and heat cables.........
toad67
Member Posts: 13,019 ✭✭✭✭
Have a section of roof and gutter that keeps wanting to plug up with ice. It gets just enough sun to start melting, then re freezes around noon or so when the sun moves. Thinking that I want to put a self regulating heat cable system on the roof and gutter. Anyone have any experience with this type of stuff?
Comments
just had a metal roof put on our house month or so back, so I am wondering about the same thing, keep us posted on what you find out and what works......
From what I've read so far, a self regulating cable is the best, for many different reasons, and are the only ones that can be used on a metal roof.
I did a thread on this topic a couple years ago when I had heat cable installed. Let me see if I can find it.
Anyone have heat cable on your roof?? — GunBroker.com Member Forums
Cost to run Roof Heat Cable, UPDATE — GunBroker.com Member Forums
Here ya go, @toad67
If you have proper roof ventilation, you should not have a problem with ice dams. Do you have a conventional attic? Do you have a ridge vent? Please describe your roof ventilation.
Standard attic with ridge and soffet vents, the house is brand new. Problem is on the east side where it gets just enough sun to melt it a little bit on the black shingles., but doesn't melt the gutters at all, so the melted water flows down to the frozen gutters, ice builds up on the roof and builds icicles from the gutters. With gutters full of snow, they don't drain that well, especially in the cold. Everything is fine until it gets out above the eaves where there is nothing under the soffets other than cold freezing air. We haven't been above the mid 20's for a week and a half or so.
Just use some tannerite on the dams. Problem solved.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Hey honey, hold my beer and watch this.....
I did all I can here.
Blowing ice dams calls for bourbon.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
It's been my experience that gutters and very cold weather do not do well together. You have to keep the gutter and downspouts heated so they don't freeze. That means electrical resistance heat and that can spin your electric meter right off the house.
The cables can work good on the overhangs, depending on how much overhang there is, but can still lead to significant energy consumption. I wonder if they could be made to operate off of photovoltaics?
Do you know what type of underlayment was put under the shingles? If it is the newer continuous type then you shouldn't have any issues with leaking above an ice dam. Tar paper can lead to leaks.
Talked with my builder the other day, and he said that they installed some type of water barrier just for that reason 6 feet up from the eaves. But I'd still like to remedy the situation..
way too many gutters out there
YUP! And way too many TV commercials these days for gutter guards! 😖
I understand your problem. Even with proper roof ventilation, you still have frozen gutters.
As a Southerner I am now fresh out of ideas, we don't deal with this down here in Dixie.
Pull the gutters off . The ice is gonna ruin them anyway . No gutters here just big overhangs