Heated Cable Systems

NJ Brickie

I went back a few months in this forum to find some info. No luck. A good friend of mine just had some water damage due to ice dams. Would anyone recommend a cable heating system? He had mentioned he would like a system that turns on and off automaticly by temp and moisture. Does any one manufacturer make a better product? Thanks in advance.
Mike

David_24

I believe that the only way to take care of the ice dams and not lose the warranty on your roof is to have a certified professional get up there and steam it away . That is what I would recommend.

__________________
I am full of dumb questions!!!!

NJ Brickie

The house is a vacation home in the mountains. Someone is not always there to call someone to steam the roof or to turn the heated cables on and off. That is the need for the automatic system. There is no warranty issue because it is an older roof. Most of the houses in that area have heated cable systems because of the heavy amount of snow every year.

Grumpy

I do alot of ehating cable systems per year, but don't guarantee them at all. They'll help a little bit. I just buy what ever home depot has in stock. These are just a band aid however, and puncturing the shingles may void your manufacturer's warranty.

Ice dams are caused by improper ventilation and/or insulation. Fix that and you greatly reduce the chance an ice damn will form. However in my climate, Chicago, ice dams will still form. So that's why ice shield has become a code requirement to extend 24" past the exterior warm wall. The ice shield prevents the ice dam from getting inside once it does form.

NJ Brickie

Thanks grumpy. I think the roof is getting alittle old but is still in good shape. I will let him know that he will need wind and ice shield when replacing the roof. The house is a cape cod so i am not sure what kind of insulation is in the ceiling because it is behind drywall. If I remember correctly there are soffit vents and thats it.

J-Peffer

Same here in western Michigan.

I've been seeing lots of ice and water guard fail of late though. I see dams 12" thick some times, with grace installed 6' up off a 12" over hang and it still gets through.

We have been getting, ice, thaw, ice thaw, ice thaw weather all winter. I've melted more ice dams this year than I ever thought I would.

Grumpy

If there are only soffit vents, he probably needs some exhaust vents or heat is getting trapped in the attic. A well balanced ventilation system has equal intake and exhaust when ever possible. True it's better to err on the side of caution, and you can pretty much never have too much intake. But you do need some exhaust. That'll probably help too.

J=Peffer, I've not had the problems you're describing. However you probably get more snow than us. I'm at the point where I think 3' just isn't enough because we can easily have more ice than that. Are you sure those failures aren't condensation but are definetly ice backup?

dennis

There are automatic controllers for heat cables with temperature and moisture sensors. But they still have to be maintained.

How do you "steam" an ice dam? I've never heard of that.

NJ Brickie

There is no attic in the house, it is a cape cod. So I am not sure on how you could increase the ventilation.