Roof Ice Melt Cable Installation

Secure shingle clips to roof shingles using a flathead screwdriver making sure to align them in a zigzag pattern.

Roof ice melt cable installation.

Constructed with three wires per cable. Heat cables can be installed to minimize ice formation and retention on roofs with them you can prevent a lot of damage to your roof that can result from the buildup of ice dams. Clip in the cable along the same zigzag pattern as the shingle clips. A ready to use roof and gutter de icing cable kit with the appropriate number of roof clips and cable spacers.

Sep 13 2016 read more. While it may seem like the perfect solution to ice dam formation heat cables come with quite a few disadvantages as well. Warm tiles dmc cables. The cables don t totally clear patches of snow but rather melt the ice immediately around them providing enough space for water to run off into your gutter.

This is an important distinction. Five watts per foot. If a part of your roof is in constant. Roof and gutter de icing cables prevent ice from sticking around during sub zero temperatures.

A typical 120 foot long roof edge with 6 12 overhangs and no gutters deicing will need about 291 feet of cable. As snow is warmed by the rising heat inside your home and melts on portions of the roof that are directly above your living area the melt runs down the slanted roof. That water flow reduces the likelihood of roof leaks and shingle damage from hard packed snow and ice dams. As mentioned above you will use about 8w per linear foot of ice melting cable.

Ice dams may still form but they won t block the flow of additional snow melt and that s what protects your roof. This allows ice to melt and move from your rooftop shingles to your gutters. Keep your roof free of ice and prevent damage using the roof de icing cable. Simple to install they offer safe reliable snow melting throughout the winter months for driveways sidewalks patios and stairs.

In this video master electrician for ask this old house scott caron helps a homeowner install heat cables on his roof to stop ice dams. Install with the roof sentry rs2 control system. That equals to 2 3kwh per hour or almost 56kwh per day of continuous operation. Unique heat tape cable systems for the roof valley and the roof flashing on metal roofs.

Each de icing cable set includes cable. The term heat tape refers to another product an insulated electrical wire applied to water pipes to keep them from freezing and bursting. Heavy duty weather resistance pvc outer jacket to survive the elements. However it may run into frozen snow and ice inside the gutter or on the eave which doesn t receive heat transferred from the living area.

Heat cable is a similar product but it is designed for installation on the edge of your home s roof near the eaves.