How to Prevent Ice Damming on Your Roof with Heat Cables

Winter weather in Colorado can be tough on your residential home or commercial building. One of the most common issues homeowners in the mountains, foothills, and even in the Denver Metro area of Colorado need to deal with is ice damming on their roofs. In this post, we’ll explore what ice damming is, how it can cause damage to your home, and how heat cables, when properly installed, can prevent it.

What is Ice Damming on Roofs?

Ice damming occurs when snow and ice accumulate on your roof, and then melt due to warm air escaping from your attic. The melted snow and ice then refreeze along the edges of your roof, creating a dam in the gutter that prevents water from properly draining off the roof.

Understanding the Damage Caused by Ice Damming

Ice damming can cause serious damage to your home, including:

• Water damage to your ceilings and walls
• Damage to your roof shingles and underlayment
• Damage to your gutters and downspouts
• The growth of mold and mildew in your home

How Heat Cables Prevent Ice Damming

Heat cables are one solution to the problem of ice damming. These cables can be installed along the edges of your roof to melt the snow and ice, allowing water to flow off the roof properly. Heat cables work by heating up when they detect the presence of snow or ice, which then melts the snow or ice before it can accumulate and cause a dam.

Installing Heat Cables on Roofs: Best Practices

If you’re interested in installing heat cables on your roof, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Before purchasing heat cables, measure the length of the areas on your roof where you want to install them. This will help you determine the amount of cable you need to buy.
• Make sure to buy heat cables that are specifically designed for outdoor use and are rated for the amount of snow and ice that your area typically receives.
• Consider hiring a professional, like the team at New Roof Plus,  to install the cables if you are not comfortable working on your roof, or if you have a particularly steep or high roof.
• If you plan to install the cables yourself, make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and use the proper safety equipment, such as a safety harness and sturdy ladder. Home Depot and other retailers sell heat cables if you are ready for a DIY effort.
• Install the heat cables along the edges of your roof and in any areas where ice dams are prone to form, such as valleys and low-pitched areas.
• Connect the cables to a thermostat or controller that will turn them on when the temperature drops below a certain point and turn them off when the temperature rises.

Other Winter Roof Maintenance Tips

In addition to installing heat cables, there are several other things you can do to protect your roof from winter weather damage:

• Keep your gutters clean and free of debris so that water can flow off your roof properly. Standing water in the gutter will freeze and start the process.
• Make sure your attic is well-insulated and properly ventilated to prevent warm air from escaping and melting snow and ice on your roof.
• Remove any overhanging tree branches that could potentially fall on your roof and cause damage.
• Check your roof regularly for signs of damage, such as missing or cracked shingles, and make repairs as needed.
• Hire a professional to inspect your roof at least once a year to identify any potential issues before they become major problems.

Conclusion

Ice damming on roofs can cause serious damage to your home, but with the right preventative measures, such as installing heat cables and practicing regular roof maintenance, you can protect your home and ensure that it remains safe and comfortable throughout the winter months. By following the best practices outlined in this post, you can safeguard your roof and prevent costly repairs down the road.

Owens Corning Shingles Preferred Installer for Denver CO

We install Owens Corning shingles in the Denver Metro area. As a Preferred Contractor – and roofing installer, New Roof Plus has the crews and management expertise to install all of the products from Owens Corning.

Owens Corning is an American-based manufacturer of roofing shingles. They are a leading manufacturer of roofing materials, including a variety of shingle options for homes in the Denver area.

Shingle Options from Owens Corning

As with any major home improvement project, it’s important to carefully consider the various options and weigh the benefits and drawbacks before making a decision. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the shingle options available from Owens Corning, as well as the benefits they can provide for homes in the Denver area.

Hail Proof Roofing in Denver Colorado

Many people search to find a true hail-proof roofing option for their home or building. The idea that a roofing shingle or roofing system exists that is completely hail-resistant seems absurd to many. Hail is very destructive.

Hail destroys a lot of roofs every year in Denver and across many parts of the US. If you have been through the process of getting your roof replaced due to hail, you would probably prefer to not do it again. This is why so many homeowners search to find a better, longer-lasting shingle. A shingle that will survive the next storm.

“There is No Such Thing as a Hail-Proof Roof”

Some roofing consultants will tell you “there is no such thing as a hail-proof roof”. Why they tell you this is likely for one of two reasons.

A. They don’t know about any product that is Hail Proof

B. They don’t want to sell it to you because the roof lasts too long!

Hail Resistant Roofing vs Hail Proof Roofing

Roofing manufacturers steer clear of saying “Hail Proof”. The phrase “hail-proof” is much more definitive than the phrase “hail-resistant”  Hail Proof makes one think that hail cannot damage it. Hail Resistant sounds similar but lawyers got involved to put limits on how much hail the resistant label can support, so to speak.

Here is an article in the Denver Post from a couple of years ago about Hail Proof Roofing

Here is an article from Owens Corning – a huge manufacturer of Class 4 Roofing Shingles with the Hail Resistant label.

The subtlety here is using the word Hail “resistant” instead of Hail “Proof”, but only if you are a lawyer, and we are not. To us, HailProof is the most durable. It can take a real hail storm and survive. There is only one product we are familiar with that does this and it is Euroshield. We will discuss this next.

Hail Proof Roofing by Euroshield

This product is impressive. It looks fantastic too. It also has a 50-year warranty. If you don’t want to replace your roof again, look closely at this option.

Euroshield clearly believes in its product. They make a lot of promises and claims and a huge warranty to back it up. We have written a lot about this and you can read more here about Euroshield.

Class 4 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles

Class 4 Shingles are the highest official designation for impact-resistant shingles. While it is the “best” rated, it may not survive a real nasty hailstorm. But it is still the best asphalt shingle that can be purchased and installed at a reasonable price.

Owens Corning Duration Storm Shingle is a class 4-rated shingle. It looks fantastic and comes in a bunch of options for color. We install a lot of this product. You can’t go wrong with it for sure.

We have written about this shingle as well and you can read more about Class 4 Shingles here

Class 3 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles

You won’t find much written about this category of impact-resistant shingle. It’s fine but nothing to write about that is exciting. This is what you would consider a standard roofing shingle, like an Owens Corning Duration shingle. It looks great and performs excellently in normal conditions. But if it is in the way of some decent-sized hail, it will get damaged. This is what most roofing contractors, who are volume sellers, want you to buy. This way they can replace it again 5 years after the next storm.

A lot of homeowners choose it because of cost too.

There is nothing wrong with this shingle. We install them often. It just doesn’t give you extra protection like the other choices. There are thinner shingles you can buy than Class 3. Read on!

Class 2 Rated Impact Resistant Roofing Shingles

Class 2 shingles are one of the cheapest options you can buy. Depending on the situation, this shingle can make sense. There are many areas in the US that get no hail. So why would you care about hail resistance? If you live in most areas west of the Rocky Mountains, hail is not an issue. But other weather elements may be. The wind is everywhere so no matter where you live this is a consideration. A better shingle will be designed to handle wind.

Fire can be an issue in some areas. Class 2 is not good for fire worries but it is sufficient for general roofing needs.

Non-Impact Resistant Shingles

This is the final category and it simply means, it is not made for any impacts from the sky or ground, other than rain.

Fire Resistant Roofing

In our next blog post, we are going to do a deep dive into Fire Resistant Roofing for Colorado. We escaped most fires this year (2022) but this is a regular annual problem for many buildings in Colorado. In 2021 the fires were devastating in both the mountains and right here in the Denver metro area. Fires ripped through suburbs as wind exploded a small human-caused fire into a catastrophic wildfire that destroyed hundreds of beautiful homes in Arvada, Superior, and Broomfield.

We have written about Fire Resistant Roofing in Colorado in the Denver Post previously and you can read more here. If you live in a fire-prone area, considering fireproof shingles is a worthy investigation. We will try to provide you with some new insight in our next post.

Until then, thank you for reading, and let us know if you have any questions we can answer.