Archive for the ‘Ice Dam Removal’ Category
Friday, January 23rd, 2015
Heat cable reviews, Ice Dam Heat Cable Reviews
Heat cables manufactured by Easy Heat, Frost King and Wrap On are not worth buying. I can’t say it more plainly than that. These cables are typically sold at box stores like Home Depot and Lowes and they should be ashamed to sell them. Why? For starters, they are only warrantied for 1 or 2 years for a very good reason. That is as long as they last (I’ve attached warranties from Wrap On and Frost King below). Homeowners buy bad cables because they are cheap and because they believe what the packaging says. Sadly, we replace thousands of feet of this junk every year. We install more heat cables that any firm in the country and fully 20% of the work we do is the replacement failed ice dam heat cable systems manufactured by Easy Heat, Frost King and Wrap On.
Beyond the short lifespan, heat cables by Easy Heat, Frost King and Wrap On are energy hogs. While they only typically draw 5 watts a foot, they run at 100% while they are plugged in, regardless of the surrounding temperatures. They are what’s called ‘constant wattage’ cable. Our ice dam heat cables are self-regulating. They sense the outdoor temperatures and draw only the electricity they need to do the job. The net result is that cheap cables made by Easy Heat, Frost King and Wrap On chew through electricity. So, somewhat paradoxically, our heavy duty ice dam heat tape runs at over twice the peak wattage of the cheap stuff, it uses far less electricity over a season.
Don’t buy Big Box heat cable.
Which heat cables are best for ice dams?
Heat tape made by Frost King, Easy Heat and Wrap On is worthless
Heat tape made by Frost King, Easy Heat and Wrap On is worthless
Tags: Easy Heat heat cables are terrible, frost king heat cable is worthless, Heat cable reviews, heat tape ice dam review results, heat tape reviews, home depot heat cable is crap, ice dam company heat cables for ice dams, which heat cables are best for ice dams, Wrap on heat cables are a scam
Posted in Ice Dam Prevention, Ice Dam Removal, Ice Dams, Misc., Ice Dams: General Info | Comments Off on Easy Heat , Frost King, Wrap On Ice Dam Heat Cable Scam
Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
In 2011, Ice Dam Company owner Steve Kuhl wrote a nationally published article about ice dams for the Journal of Light Construction. One of the topics that receieved the most attention was the notion that gutters have nothing to do with ice dams. Here is a deeper look at that assertion.
There is a great deal of confusion and misinformation about the relationship between gutters and ice dams. Many people are under the misconception that gutters cause ice dams or that gutters filled with ice can cause water to back up into homes. Neither is true. Nor do gutters amplify the negative effects of ice dams in terms of the likelihood or severity of leaks into a home.
We know that ice dams occure when:
1. Escaped heat from the inside of the home warms the roof deck.
2. This melts the snow on the roof, resulting in water that runs down to a cold, unheated area of the eave.
3. That water freezes, forming ice. After many cycles that ice piles up to form an ice dam.
Study the illustrations below. These are identical eave designs, one with gutters, the other without. The Area B in the diagrams below is referred to as the ‘cold edge’ of the eave because heat from the interior of the home doesn’t travel far enough to raise the temperatures above 32 degrees in this zone. Fact one: whether or not a home has gutters, the cold edge of the eave will still exist and this is where ice dams form. Fact two: leaks from ice dams occur in Area A, at the top edge of the ice dam where water–with nowhere else to go–is forced up under the roofing material and into the home. Another way to look at it is this. If the home in Figure 2 had bad leaks inside, those leaks would not be eliminated whatsoever if we took a chainsaw and cut off the gutters along the red dashed line (C). Gutters are irrelevant in the formation of ice dams. Gutters being full of debris is likewise irrelevant in terms of ice dams. End of story.
Ice in gutters fact vs fiction – Steve Kuhl, Ice Dam Expert explains
None of this is to suggest that ice in gutters is a harmless situation. We have seen many gutters damaged or destroyed by ice dams and that is a problem most homeowners would like to avoid. The point here is that all else held equal, if a home is likely to get ice dams the addition or deletion of gutters will be of no consequence to the formation or severity of said ice dams.
Ice dams can cause all sorts of damage. Below is a client of ours who had significant damage to her gutters and aluminum soffits from ice dams. Kuhl’s Contracting, our sister company, is one of the best companies in Minneapolis when it comes to repairing ice dam damage and ice dam prevention. Kuhl’s Contracting also installs more ice dam heat cables than any company in Minnesota. Of course, heat cables and heat tape are not a permanent solution for ice dams in Minnesota. Click here to see a Kuhl Case Study that examines one such approach to ice dam prevention using enhanced home insulation in Minneapolis. This particular ice dam prevention project was in Edina.
Ice dam damage to home repaired by kuhls contracting
Tags: do gutters cause ice dams, do gutters make ice dams worse, gutters and ice dams, heat cable prices, heat cable supplier, ice dam heat tape installer, kuhls contracting home insulation minneapolis, kuhls contracting ice dam prevention expert
Posted in Ice Dam Prevention, Ice Dam Removal, Ice Dams, Misc. | Comments Off on Ice Dams in Gutters – The Minneapolis Ice Dam Myth
Sunday, January 5th, 2014
Minnesota’s only licensed ice removal contractor
News flash. We just did a little digging and discovered that we are the only State Licensed ice dam removal remodeling contractor in Minnesota. We’ve been assuming that everyone plays by the same rules up until now. Click here to see for yourself. Search for our major competitors on the Department of Labor’s site. They are nowhere to be found. Wow. Not to be tattletales, but really?
The State of Minnesota requires that anyone who contracts with a homeowner to “construct or improve residential real estate” must be licensed as a residential building contractor or residential remodeler unless they do roofing alone, in which case they must be licensed as a roofer. I guess that is where the gray area exists. Is ice dam removal an improvement to a home? Not really and yet it seems reasonable to call someone who gets up on your roof to perform professional work a roofer and roofers must be licensed according to the Law. This ambiguity apparently creates enough moral wiggle room for some ice dam removal companies to operate without a license. Tisk tisk fellas.
Why should you care if your ice removal contractor is licensed? For starters, a contractor can not obtain a license without possessing a minimum amount of experience and must pass a residential construction and business management test. We are also subject to a criminal background check and must not have any outstanding contracting complaints on record. Licensed contractors are required to prove they are indeed insured for both Worker’s Comp and General Liability. As a homeowner you are protected by the Contractors Recovery Fund if something goes wrong. This fund compensates homeowners who have suffered out-of-pocket losses due to a licensed contractor’s fraudulent, deceptive or dishonest practices or failure of performance. This is not available to those who chose to work with unlicensed contractors.
The bottom line is that hiring a licensed contractor offers many additional protections to the home owner. Here is a helpful article on Angie’s List about the topic.
The only licensed ice removal contractor? Really?
Tags: Angie's List ice dam company, avoiding ice dam rip off, hiring professional ice dam removal services, ice dam frequently asked questions, ice dam removal company ratings, ice dam removal contractor minneapolis, insured ice dam removal, Licensed ice dam removal
Posted in Ice Dam Removal, Ice Dams, Misc. | Comments Off on Minnesota’s Only Licensed Ice Dam Removal Contractor
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Another ice dam removal method-round-up by Reuben, this time in the Star Tribune:
Hack Method of Ice Dam Removal Discussed
At the end of the article Reuben give Ice Dam Company a little screen time where Steve talks about the differences between a true ice dam steamer and high-temperature pressure washers.
Tags: Ice dam removal, ice dam removal jerks, minneapolis ie dam removal, steamer, twin cities ice dam remover
Posted in Ice Dam Removal | Comments Off on Reuben in the Strib
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
This past week, we were called out to a Fairview Hospital to resolve an ongoing roof leak in their EPDM roof or rubber roof. The roof leak, they suspected, was being caused by an massive ice build up on their flat roof. The area covered in ice was approximately 1200 square feet and ranged between 3-5″ thick. They had gotten another bid from acompetitor to remove the entire ice field for around $8,000.
Upon visiting the site, we quickly determined it was not necessary to remove the entire ice field in the area. Our experience as professional roofers and our use of thermal imaging quickly pointed us to a bad corner flashing detail as shown here. This area was completely covered by ice and was the main source of their leak.
The job was quite simple. We used our commercial steamers to cut through the ice and clear a channel from the area around the leak to the nearest roof drain. This allowed any melted snow/ice to run directly to the drain, instead of being dammed up and leaking into the hospital.
We also removed a the large section of ice that surrounded the leak area to allow for proper repair of the roofing and flashing that had failed. Fairview was so happy with our work that they ended up having us remove rest of the ice in that surrounding area. In the end, our cost for all of the work was half that of our competitor’s estimate. We pride ourselves in doing business under the philosophy that we’re trying to build lasting, honest relationships. Not just trying to earn the quick buck. Our guess is that we will be called for all ice removal needs by the Fairview Hospital network going forward. A lot of ice removal companies in the Minneapolis area are allergic to honesty. Perhaps Fairview has an ointment for that?
Tags: edina ice dam removal, ice dam removal jerks, minneapolis ice dam removal, wayzata ice dam removal
Posted in Ice Dam Removal, Water Damage | Comments Off on Ice Dam Removal on Fairview Hospital
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Okay, I have have seen it all now. I’ve kept quiet for the last two years but I can’t do it any longer. I just spoke with a woman whose roof was scarred up by a ‘professional’ using a ‘steamer’. The only catch was that the guy wasn’t using a steamer; it was a pressure washer . A number of companies are using high-temperature pressure washers instead of steamers to remove ice from homes. At first glance it might sound like a distinction interesting only to ice geeks. But alas, it is a pretty big deal. In short, pressure washers rely on pressure to remove ice (go figure), not on heat. ‘High-Temperature’ pressure washers operate at slightly higher temperatures than a typical water heater (120-170 degrees). A steamer is an entirely different machine. It converts cold tap water into true steam, which can only be achieved at 250 to 300 degrees. Again, why care? In short it comes down to the fact that steam remove ice much, much faster than high-pressure water. This translates in to time and money (less of both if you use a steamer). Steamers are not only the fastest choice, they are the safest. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that using high-pressure water near frozen roofing materials may not be the best plan. Invariably, regardless of the user, such machines strip off the granules on asphalt composite shingles. This voids manufacturers warranties and it reduces the lifespan of the shingle.
We own three high-temp pressure washers but would never consider using them to cut ice. To the average dude they don’t look much different than a steamer. Use one to cut ice and the difference becomes clear right away. For this reason, conscientious, ethical contractors use actual steamers. Besides The Ice Dam Company, there are a number of outfits in town that use true steamers, including Garlock-French and Absolutely Clean Window Washing. I’ve been around this industry for over 20 years and I have never heard a complaint about those shops. My point is, no matter who you hire to remove your ice, make certain their machinery is as advertised. It must be running at a minimum of 250 degrees over the entire course of the job to function safely and efficiently.
Here’s a great image taken by out friend Reuben Saltzman of Structure Tech, showing what kind of damage a pressure washer can do to an asphault roof when it’s used to remove an ice dam:
Oops.
Tags: edina ice dam steaming, Ice dam removal, ice dam removal jerks, minnetonka ice dam steaming, orono ice dam removal, roof ice steaming
Posted in Ice Dam Removal | Comments Off on Steaming Ice Dams: Loser alert.
