Melting Ice On A Roof

Clip a snow melting system to your roof to resist ice formation.

Melting ice on a roof.

Snow melting systems take the form of heated wires that clip to shingles and the edge of your roof. The roof melt tabs melt through the ice to the roof and then drains under the ice instead of backing up into the attic. Clip in the cable along the same zigzag pattern as the shingle clips. 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.

A metal roof is great for preventing snow build up because the sun heats up the metal and causes the snow to slide right off. The alpine roof ice melt system was designed to prevent roof ice dams especially in heavy snowfall areas including colorado s ski resort mountain communities of breckenridge copper mountain vail and winter park colorado. Then plug the system into a nearby outlet to melt away the snow. For an ice dam to form the warm parts of the roof generally need to be higher than 32 degrees f while the cold areas of the.

If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position. Secure shingle clips to roof shingles using a flathead screwdriver making sure to align them in a zigzag pattern. Breaking an ice dam is usually done in conjunction with melting the ice in some fashion such as with the use of calcium chloride socks as described above or with roof steaming below. Run the heating elements back and forth in a zigzag above the gutters.

The picture below is the ice dam that fell off my roof after melting from below. If you still have snow or ice on your metal roof there are several different tools you can use to melt the snow like heat cables calcium chloride or hot water. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas. I ordered extra to have on hand for the future.

Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. An ice dam can form when certain parts of the roof get warm enough to melt the snow on the roof while the roof edges remain much colder and as a result prevent the melted snow from flowing down the roof. Prevent a range of problems related to snow and ice build up. The 60 count roof melt tablet designed to prevent damage to roofs from ice dams made from calcium chloride easy to use simply toss a roof melt tablet on the roof let it do the work no ladders or extension equipment needed proven reliable inexpensive products toss 1 tablet on every sqft of problem area begins working the hour after applied to problem area no long term adverse.