Some houses are ice dam magnets and nothing will keep the ice dams away.
Ice dam melting cables.
This is an important distinction.
Heat tape for ice dam prevention.
Install the cables along the roof edge where ice tends to build up.
Frost king carries electric roof cables kits in lengths from 30 to 200 each powered by 120v with 7 watts per foot.
Dasmarine roof gutter de icing heat cable roof gutter snow de icing cable roof snow ice melter all in one kit for ice dam prevention with thermostat.
In that case heat cable can help you keep trouble spots clear of snow and ice.
Fortunately you can reduce some of the issues associated with ice dams by using heat cables on roofs and gutters.
We recommend the loop height to be 12 longer than your overhang this will ensure that your heat cable is melting the ice 6 past the exterior wall of your house.
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.
Enter the humble heat cable.
It goes by many names including heat cable heat coil and roof deicing cable but the underlying principle of all ice dam.
This dam traps water allowing it to work under the shingles.
As the ice dam forms it may be hidden under a pile of snow so you cannot see the damage it s causing.
The heat cable prevents ice from forming allowing the melting snow and ice to find a runoff path into the downspout and away.
That water flow reduces the likelihood of roof leaks and shingle damage from hard packed snow and ice dams.
This allows ice to melt and move from your rooftop shingles to your gutters.
When you attach ice melting cables to the roof be sure to place fasteners under the overlapping shingles or you will make holes in the roof where water can leak.
But you probably don t live in that house.
The only effective way to prevent ice dams is to use an engineered heated panel design.
While it may seem like the perfect solution to ice dam formation heat cables come with quite a few disadvantages as well.
Deicing cables heat the roof edge and keep it free of ice.
If you have valleys with ice dam problems also include total length of valley where you will install the 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.
Alpine ice solutions has special.
Ice dams may still form but they won t block the flow of additional snow melt and that s what protects your roof.