Ice Dam Heat Flat Roof

As more and more water melts down the roof and refreezes at these locations ice builds up and forms a blockage or dam.

Ice dam heat flat roof.

This scenario is often the result of a warm attic. Conduction convection and radiation. When it snows outside a thick layer of snow settles on the roof and the warm air from the attic slowly melts the snow. They form when snow melts in warmer areas of the roof sending water running down toward the edge.

Ice dams can pose many problems. The heat tape was placed in a series of parallel loops on the roof surface concentrating the loops in the lowest point from which the roof should drain. A good example of this is the heating of a cast iron frying pan. 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 roof need to be below 32 degrees f this means that the outside temperatures must also be below 32 degrees f.

This only occurs when part of your roof warms to above 32 degrees f warm enough to melt the snow while the roof edge remains below freezing. Heat from the house travels to the roof surface in three ways. Our mats can be placed under asphalt shingles synthetic slate and shake and both standing seam and pro panel roofing giving you the continuous look to the roof edge. Prevent future ice dam leaks.

Ice dams cause leaks when snow melts higher on the roof and that melt water hits a dam of ice. It is primarily heat flowing from the house that causes the nonuniform temperatures of the roof surface leading to ice dams. Heated roof systems offers you our exclusive patented technology that provides a concealed snow melt mat placed under various roofing material to eliminate ice dams. Use this calculator to estimate the cost and length of heat cables for your home based on your roof length and overhang width.

If snow and ice accumulate on your roof heating cables are an easy and effective to solution to eliminate melt the ice dams before they cause major damage. Ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge. With nowhere else to go the water is forced to back up under the roofing materials and into the structure. Conduction is heat energy traveling through a solid.

Heat tape aka heat cables are designed to create channels through the ice dam to let that water escape.