Gutter Heat?

After last winter, I vowed never to deal with ice dams again. And I'm running out of time. Any experience with this stuff?

http://www.heatersplus.com/roofcable.html

Aren't ice dams the result of heat loss through the roof and walls that melts snow that refreezes once it hits the cold air again? As more snow melts off the roof from heat loss, the water runs out of places to go and heads uphill or through a wall.

Insulating the ceiling and walls would eliminate two issues.

Circa 1894 home, I have a list.

Circa 2001 home, already well insulated. I built it myself.

I only have a minor issue, more of a threat than anything else. We just came off an unusual winter. I didn't get any water inside last year, but all of my neighbors did. I was afraid that my gutters would fall off, though.

Try garagejournal.com. Guys deal with lotsa stuff like this all the time.

Woody wrote: Gutter Heat

Good name for a porno.

I have installed them on the g/f's house as the roof had a low pitch and poor insulation, so ice damning was a problem. I ran the cable in the zig-zag pattern shown, then across the gutter and down the down-spout. It did work to keep the gutters clear and water flowing. After some of the really heavy snow storms we had last year, the snow would beat it, but eventually there would be clear areas from the cable.

Ice daming is definitely something to be concerned about. When we demolished the ceiling for a second floor addition, we found a couple of rotted ceiling joists (if you can call a 2x4 a "joist").

We've been debating on reinstalling it since the new roof will be pitched better and will be better insulated.

Heat tape works fine if it's installed correctly. There are a number of brands and styles on the market, I'd look for the kind that is self-regulating - it automatically regulates the heat output based on ambient temperature, you just plug it in in the fall and leave it until spring. Tyco Thermal is a big name in the business, they manufacture Raychem, Wintergard and several other brands. http://tycothermal.com/usa/english/

if your ceiling is properly insulated, you do not have ice dams. You might very well have freezing gutters, but the cause and repair are two different things.

Heat tapes work, and seldom actually burn the entire house down.