ice dam roof de-icing cable solution that works.

Ok, here's the de-icing cable I used:

http://www.easyheat.com/adks_details.htm

I put it up about 10 years ago and haven't touched it since.

I ran one 60 foot length of tape inside the gutter so water in the cutter can pour off. I use another 80 foot length for the roof. I ignored the directions. I just put the tape in upside down V's along the roof edge with the peak being about 8 shingles from the edge (that was enough so that the "peak" of the upside down "V" was about 6 inches past the vertical line of the soffet,) using the clips that came with the kit to hold it down. I'm guessing around 3 "V"'s every 10 feet. I then attached the bottom loops of the upside down V to the outer edge of the gutter.

I had to also replace the outdoor flood light that was closest to the gutter with one that had a 2 gang outdoor socket and a flood light so I could plug in the heat tape as the directions indicated. I simply unplug the de-icing cable in the off-season; the cable stays on the roof year round.

edit january 2011:

@polishdickhead I saw 80ft ones at the home depot just the other day. Here are some stills of how I did
my roof:

http://jleslie48.com/jl/060521_roof/ETHtml.htm

My wife forgot to turn it on last week after the snow. when I finally saw it I could see the icicles coming out of the soffet vents (water was into the soffet already, but not in the house) I turned on the tape for 20 hours, the water poured off the roof, and the icicles in the soffett vents disapppeared.

Here is some more stills of this past winter: Note how well the heat tape drilled right through the ice. It actually made the snow into a dome where the roof was completely dry under a canopy of snow:

http://jleslie48.com/jl/110204_ice_roof_tie_dye/acs.html

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• ice
• dam
• roof
• de-icing
• water
• leak
• snow

[obamasuckss]

dont listen to this asshole he has NO IDEA what hes talking about !! your attic is insulated like shit or there is too much insulation so it cant vent out the ridge vent !! MORON

[jleslie48]

@obamasuckss : not very bright are you? your issues were all addressed in the write-up and here in the comments a long time ago. You really should just let folk think you are a fool rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[obamasuckss]

@jleslie48 whoes the fool you have ice dams i dont lol Moron !!

[jleslie48]

@obamasuckss : Neither do I. BTW, I is capitalized.  There is a period after dont [sic] (you are also missing an apostrophe. It's "Who's" as well, whoes [sic] is not a word.

Oh, and after fool is a question mark. and "You" starts a new sentence. Really now, you are embarrassing yourself.

[seanmahon101]

This was useless thanks woody allen. what did u show -nothing?

[jleslie48]

@seanmahon101 well yeah, the video just shows what happens to the roof based on my installation. You would have to READ the "show more" to get the install procedure. I realize this is probably more than you can handle.

[dogdefran]

@seanmahon101 Watching this was worth it, just to read your comment!

[MightyZarkon]

@seanmahon101 He explained it all, and what to do Mr. Rude Guy. Where are your informative videos? Just be grateful someone took their time to explain something to you.

[noodors]

Put the pellets in an ice melt sock and not only will it last longer, cut deeper ice channels to drain water, and keep the ice melt on the roof from sliding off, it is approved by the

Canadian Housing and Mortgage Authority.

[jleslie48]

@usta4070 home depot has them right now in August, here in central NJ. I'm just a home owner, and the gutter installation was done professionally, and "looks" exactly the same as all the houses down the street. I clean the gutters 4x a year. doesn't make a difference. the wind whips around the the house, and freezes the downspout. The downspout in the front of the house is actually split from the ice.