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Gutter De-icing cable?

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Bob Thomas

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Question.........

 

Having a bear of a winter again. Even with the new roof, we had a bad ice dam backup and some water damage. Roofer came back over and we climbed up and shoveled the snow off and took a look. The gutters were backing up and with all the ice/snow storms we had, the ice was a good 16' up the roof. I only have 9' of ice/water shield

 

My question is this....

 

If I were to buy the gutter de-icing cables:

 

1. Would they work and temporarily solve the problem by laying them on top of the ice and plugging them in

2. Can I just run an extension cord to power the cables and plug them in when the ice is forming?

3. Are these things safe? I'd be worried they might burn the house down!

 

Ok...maybe it was more than 1 question wink.gif This winter has been bad (devastating ice storm in December, constant snow and another ice storm a few weeks ago) but I (as often as possible) snow rake the roof up about 4'. Still having this problem and hope these might be the answer.

 

Anyone have experience with these?

 

Thanks as always!

Bob Thomas
SOL#162
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If you have ice dams on your roof its because your roof is getting too hot. Its usually because you don't have enough ventilation and the hot air can't escape fast enough during the day...or not enough insulation and heat from inside your house is getting into the attic....or both.

 

Those deicing wires are dangerous( fire hazard) and expensive, not to mention they look bad on your roof. Spend the money on fixing the cause of the problem.smile.gif

You're getting sleepy. ....very sleepy.....
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heat loss causes ice back up,plain and simple,in order to fix the problems,you adequate soffitt venting in accordance with proper venting in between the rafter bays and the proper amount of insulation,do that and you will solve your problems,and don't forget the ridge vent so if you do have any heat loss it will be able to escape and pull the cold air in thru the soffitt vents,matt

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Ridge and soffit vents are like seatbelts as they are a last line of defense. The best way to stop ice dams, as mentioned by others, is to stop your heat loss. You can stop the ice dams and dramatically lower your utility bills by proper sealing and insulation. Note, the two are separate and distinct from each other. Air leaks into your attic will cause massive heat loss, and no amount of insulation will stop that. Air leaks are found around pipes, electrical fixtures, top plates etc. Here's a pic of a real beauty in my attic. Seal the leaks with gun foam. My suggestion would be for removing the fiberglass and blowing in 18 inches of cellulose. Fiberlass batts, in my opinion, are worth less than used poo paper. PS, thanks to Ed J for smacking sense into me about air leaks. It took me waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long to listen to him.

525

Just imagine how happy you would be if you lost everything you have in life and then suddenly got it back
SOL Member #101

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I would also spray great stuff foam in the attic along both edges of the internal walls. Its a great heat lost spot. You may not think so but take a smoke tester and put it in a wall and go in the attic you will see smoke coming out both sides of the top plate.

 

 

This is a picture of whats happening. They show the wall cavity empty, however in a new home, there is wet insulation in there now. Also like above, if water can get into so can air, foam it up. Its also why you feel cool air at the outlets.

roof_with_ice_dam_1_.jpg

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Thanks for the replies! I talked to the roofer again yesterday and he was saying the same thing...we need to get the attic sealed (i.e. the areas where the heat is coming up) and get some more insulation in there. He's actually going to come by in the spring and work the issue again.

 

I'm still amazed, though. When he did the roof last year, he cut a TON more holes in the soffits and put the perforated vinyl along the entire length. He said he wants to cut some more cwm31.gif I want to say the original soffit vents were rectangular and about 1 1/2 feet long and were spaced about every 6 feet. He then cut a bunch of the round holes about every 3 feet. Now he wants to cut more...I'm scared wink.gif but he said it will help. I can feel the air moving up there, much better than before. Have a bunch of those foam cans so this spring, I'm going to town and sealing the heck out of the attic.

 

Thanks again...hopefully, this will cure the problem for next year. I'm thinking the cables are a bad idea...last thing I want is the house burning down redface.gif

Bob Thomas
SOL#162
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what he should have done on the soffitt is tear the the old soffitt apart,and if you were going to put vinly soffitt up there shouldn't be any obstructions behind it,it should be free and clear of wood,the more air you have venting the better off you are,but you need to stop the heat loss first and foremost,do that and correct venting you should have no problems,matt

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The extra holes, are ok, however. The best thing you can do it seal the holes from pipes, fans, etc.. and the edges of the internall walls. I would call mass save dot com and get an audit on your house. They just came to mine today and told me to do the same thing I'm telling you to do. However I hired them to do it for me. The cost of the foam to the cost of them doing it was a complete 180. I calculated about 26 cans of foam @ $5 totaling $130, or get the 2 part cans and gun at about $250. Then you have to do all the work. Well come to find out they want one hundred fifty six george washingtons. To do the attic, reseal the attic access, the fans, pipes, rseal the external doors, and seal the sill plate in the basement. How can you say no... kooky.gif

Also they will put a house fan and find other air leaks, have the air sealers come in and seal it up and then retest my house.

All I have to do now is sit back and beers.gifand then cwm33.gifwarm.

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