In this episode, John Maher interviews Brett Rogenski,
General Manager of Master Roofers, about roof deicing and cable installation.
Brett explains how ice and snow buildup can cause dangerous ice dams and
falling snow, leading to property damage and injuries. He details how deicing
cables work with thermostats to melt ice safely and prevent dam formation.
Brett emphasizes proper design considerations, including roof pitch and attic
insulation, and advocates for professional installation to avoid DIY mishaps.
This discussion provides homeowners with practical tips for safeguarding their
roofs during harsh winter conditions.
John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I'm here today with Brett
Rogenski, general manager of Master Roofers, the most trusted roofing company
in New Hampshire for over 80 years. Today we're talking about roof deicing,
cable installation and use. Welcome, Brett.
Brett Rogenski: Thanks, John. I appreciate you having me today.
What are Dangers of Ice and
Snow Buildup?
Maher: Sure. So, Brett, what dangers to a home can be caused by ice and
snow buildup on roofs?
Rogenski: Sure. The two things that jumped to my mind immediately,
and part of it depends on the type of roof that it is, is number one, snow and
ice sliding off the roof so causing a physical danger or damage. Damage to your
shrubs in front, damage to a person underneath, damage to a vehicle. I
personally went through a situation where I had snow slide off of a steep pitch
roof land on the front of my brand new minivan and absolutely crushed the hood
of it.
Maher: Yeah.
Rogenski: And the only good news is I'm like, well, better my
minivan hood than a person, right?
Maher: Sure.
Rogenski: So yeah. So, one risk is snow load shedding and it
injuring somewhere or causing property damage. So that's one item. The second
concern is the buildup of ice dams on the soffits of your roof because ice
dams, as they build up then cause damage. They can cause leaks within your
home. They can cause damage to your roof. They can cause significant damage to
your property. So deicing cables, heating cables, are capable of minimizing the
risk of both of those items. And those are the two most common things that
we're helping people with by installing heating cables.
What are Heating Cables?
Maher: So, a lot of homeowners might not really be familiar with
heating cables or deicing cable systems. Tell us a little bit more about what
they are and how they work.
Rogenski: Sure. So, to look at them, they look like a piece of,
oh, it's a piece of wire. Kind looks like old cable TV cable.
Maher: Okay.
Rogenski: It's typically black, although it can come in colors.
And what it is is a resistance wire. So there's a couple of wires in there
inside of a UV protected sheath, because it's obviously outside. And that wire,
there's a resist that's tied to a thermostat where we set a high temperature
and a low temperature. So where does it kick on? Where does it kick off?
And it sends electrical current through the wires creating
resistance, and the resistance creates heat. So when it's doing that, that goes
on and it creates resistance in that wire. And we actually take that wire and
we put it in the areas where there's potentially trouble. So, for instance on a
standing seam metal roof, we may run it up and down certain parts of that
standing seam metal roof which has those vertical channels.
On a more typical asphalt shingle roof, you'll see where
we typically go, kind of a zigzag-ish pattern along that edge within those
first three feet from the edge back, and that's where your soffit is and can
cause ice damming. So we actually-
Does Heat Wire Go On The
Whole Roof?
Maher: You wouldn't typically put it all over the entire roof, you'd
just put it on those first couple of feet?
Rogenski: Exactly. Because those first two to three feet, that's
where ice dams form because your roof has heat escaping up to it, your attic
does, melting that snow which then comes to the edge, which is cool because
it's a soffit and refreezes and causes the ice dam. So by now having this
heated cable on the edge where essentially we're creating a channel that cable
will not allow ice to form in that area.
And then that channel that it creates allows the water
that's coming down to drain and go away and not create the ice dam. And the
thermostat that I talked about is interesting as well. As I mentioned, we set a
high temp and a low temp on it, so it's not running all the time. It only comes
on when you need it temperature wise. It's obviously not going to snow when
it's 45 degrees outside.
So, we set a high and low temperature, and then what it
does is it actually modulates itself based on the actual outdoor temperature.
Because if you think about it, put the same amount of electricity through that
cable at 28 degrees as it would at -20 degrees. That heat would just dissipate.
It wouldn't allow it to effectively melt ice and snow and those sorts of
things.
So, what it does is it actually may put out whatever, 100
watts at 28 degrees, and it may go up as high as like 200 watts going through
that cable at -10. So, it actually makes the cable hotter when it gets colder
outside. Does use more energy doing that, but it's effective. And then it
actually brings itself down as it gets closer to the freezing point and above.
So takes care of itself.
Can Homeowners Shut Off The
Deicing Cable?
Maher: Do you have any way to shut it off? Like say we just happen to
have a winter where we're not getting a lot of snow so you just don't really
need it. Is there a switch that you can just shut it off?
Rogenski: You can certainly do that. We have you work with an
electrician to provide an outlet, and many people do exactly that. They have a
switch tied to that outlet so they can put it off. Some people deal with it as
a breaker in their breaker box and choose to shut that off.
But a lot of folks do a switch. But again, with that
thermostat that's tied to it, remember if it's X temperature outside and it's
outside the range, it's not going to come on. So, it's not just in there
running all the time burning up your electricity. It's only going to come on
essentially within the temperature range where it's decided to be needed. But
yeah, you can absolutely shut it off and we have plenty of people who choose to
do that.
Are Deicing Cables for All
Types of Roof?
Maher: Are deicing cables suitable for any type of roof?
Rogenski: Yeah, they can actually used on any type of roof.
They're certainly most common on asphalt shingles because asphalt shingles
because of the granular surface of them, they don't actually tend to shed snow.
Most of the time you see snow coming off a roof. If you see a big snow slide,
it might be on a slate roof or on a metal roof or something like that.
Asphalt shingles, because of that granular surface to
them, everything tends to want to grip. But that then creates that problem of
building up ice and that sort of thing. So, I would say they're very common on
asphalt shingle roofs. The other place that a lot of times that they're used is
on standing seam metal roofs, and that's more about that whole snow slide
thing. It might not be a place where they can have what we call snow rails that
hold it back. So instead they choose to put in a deicing cable to simply melt
that away.
What Does Master Roofers
Consider When Designing a Deicing Cable System?
Maher: Okay. What are some of the factors that Master Roofers consider
when designing or installing a deicing cable system to ensure optimal
performance?
Rogenski: Sure. One of the first things is pitch of the roof. So
how much is this going to be trying to shed? So pitch of the roof is one
certain thing. Second thing is in the design process, and this surprises a lot
of people, we're going to ask to see your attic. Your attic shows us the other
side of your roof. We all see the shingle side and we think, oh, that's my
roof. Well, there's another side, it's up in your attic.
And what we're really looking at there is insulation. So,
we're seeing how well insulated you are and how well-ventilated that attic is,
which then leads to heat buildup if it's poor, and we're doing that so that we
can say, well, what's the melt rate going to be on this?
How much is going to be coming down here, a poorly
insulated attic or poorly ventilated that maybe can't be remediated? We're
going to have more linear feet of deicing cable put in than in a situation
where it's a very well insulated, very well ventilated attic where we go, well,
the melt rate's not going to be as high, so we can actually use fewer linear
feet to make sure that that soffit area stays open.
When to Install Deicing
Cables
Maher: Is it best to get a deicing cable system like this installed
during the summer so that you're prepared for the winter months? Or is it
possible for you to install them actually in the winter?
Rogenski: Sure. So, we can install them during any season. Is it
easier probably for everyone to be done anytime except for when it's snowy and
icy? Yeah, absolutely. The truth of the matter is, a lot of times folks don't
know that they have this problem until there is snow and ice on the roof. So,
we come and we help them remediate whatever the immediate situation is, and
then at that point we can install those for them rather than wait until spring.
So, certainly the way we like to meet people who are
interested in putting deicing cables up is we'd like to meet them before it's a
problem so we can install the proper equipment so they never have a problem.
The reality is a lot of times folks didn't know they had a problem until they
have a problem. We help them address it, and then we were able to deploy this
to make sure that we don't all have to live through this together again.
What Is Considered When
Installing These Systems?
Maher: All right. And then for homeowners who are considering a deicing
cable installation, should they schedule a consultation with Master Roofers to
really talk about what the best system is and have you, like you said, check
out the attic, check out the roof, and determine what the best setup would be?
Rogenski: Absolutely. Yeah. This is something we don't run on down
to the big box store buy some cables and huck them up there and see what
happens. There's an actual design. So, yeah, what we recommend for anyone who's
having issues with ice damage or feels they need deicing cables, which also go
in gutters frequently and that sort of thing, give us a call or reach out to
us.
We've got great information on our website,
masterroofers.com, and you can even schedule a consultation right there on the
website. You can submit a form to request one. So give us a call, go to the
website and schedule a consultation. We'll come out and we'll assess your
situation because every design is different. So we'll assess the situation,
review it with you, and design a solution that's just right for you in your
home.
Maher: All right. Well, that's really great information, Brett. Thanks
again for speaking with me today.
Rogenski: Thanks so much. I appreciate you having me.
Maher: And for more information, you can visit the website at
masterroofers.com or call (603) 623-4973.