Ice dams and heat tape

My roofer is Renato of AAA Roofing. 347.604.2870\. Tell him Nancy recommended him. Agree with the previous post. Good luck.

nancyk

in Roofers 10 years and 10 months ago

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jty2 | 10 years and 10 months ago

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I have a typical brownstone flat bitumen roof. Do these typically have problems with ice dams during the winter and has anyone had success with the heat tape? Did you install it yourself or have a roofer or someone like that do it? My house has some heat tape installed right now by a prior owner, but it looks fairly haphazard, so I want to either fix it up or just remove it. Thanks!

resident2 | 10 years and 10 months ago

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If your drains (gutters & leaders) are kept clear; not clogged with fall leaves etc. And your roof is not in constant shade or faces predominantly north (slopes North) And is pitched correctly. You should not have a problem. Roofs that typically get the sun, as well as residual heat from your house, unless we get a huge snow storm (5’in 12 hours) although even then the snow on the roof melts first. (because of the above.) If your leader is on a north facing wall, you may want to heat tape the leader; to keep it clear for melting. What did the prior owner or your home inspector say about the heat tapes that are on your roof?

BSDOD | 10 years and 10 months ago

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All you need is one bad experience with ice dams, and it sounds like the previous owner suffered it for you and had tried to resolve it. I installed my own and didn’t have an issue last year. But I think it could be done better by someone with the right tools not to damage the roof. My leader and gutters face north, they would have completely frozen without the heat wires.

nancyk | 10 years and 10 months ago

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I had my roofer install heat tape in my gutter and leader.

jty2 | 10 years and 10 months ago

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Which roofer did you use nancyk (and what else did they do for you)? Also, looking for a good roofer 🙂 Thanks.

Augustiner | 10 years and 10 months ago

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Anybody putting down a new membrane should add at least 2 inch polyiso or Roxul toprock underneath. Then you won’t have this problem, because you have no punctual melt/refreeze. Your top floor will be cosy and warm for years to come and your energy bill will go down. It doesn’t cost much for the additional work or material. The only reason why this is not standard is that oil and gas are still too cheap, and Energy saving is considered a hobby and not a standard.

sprucenik | 10 years and 10 months ago

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We also have a typical flat bitumen roof (graded correctly) had terrible ice dams last winter (never before) – think it was heavy snowfall followed by sunny days and freezing nights that did us in. It is an experience that you NEVER want to go through. If I were you I would just go ahead and install new heat cables/tape. It will be well worth the money when it’s 20 degrees and icy on your roof and you can sit inside instead of being up on the roof trying to melt your way through the dam.