Heat Tape and Leafguard Gutters

[btuser]

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to rip down 900sqft of cathedral ceiling to re-insulate with Sprayfoam at a cost of $7,000 + 2 months of Hell. That being said I'm still trying to figure out how to stop these ice dams, which aren't bad but I want some semblance of control. The problem I have is that my gutters have leaf guards on them, so the water freezes on top the gutter and doesn't actually fill the gutter, but builds up on top. I'm worried that if I run heat tape in the gutter its not going to help.

Does anyone else have leaf guards and a solution?

 

[Hogwildz]

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to rip down 900sqft of cathedral ceiling to re-insulate with Sprayfoam at a cost of $7,000 + 2 months of Hell. That being said I'm still trying to figure out how to stop these ice dams, which aren't bad but I want some semblance of control. The problem I have is that my gutters have leaf guards on them, so the water freezes on top the gutter and doesn't actually fill the gutter, but builds up on top. I'm worried that if I run heat tape in the gutter its not going to help.

Does anyone else have leaf guards and a solution?

My father has the heating wire run along his roof eaves and into the gutter & downspouts. He has to remove the leaf screen every year in the fall after the leaves fall, and reinstall in the spring.
You might try running the wiring along the top of the gutterguard. The wiring/tape merely leaves a path for the melt off to run. It doesn't really melt the roof area where is it. So this may work for you. Worth a try.

 

[LLigetfa]

I don't have leaf guard on my gutters but I did heat trace them. I find that there is enough heat to keep the ice several inches away from the wire and think that rising heat would keep the leaf guard ice free. What type of leaf guard is it? Are we talking the brand name, LeafGuard?

http://www.leafguard.com/faqs.php

 

[Hogwildz]

I don't have leaf guard on my gutters but I did heat trace them. I find that there is enough heat to keep the ice several inches away from the wire and think that rising heat would keep the leaf guard ice free. What type of leaf guard is it? Are we talking the brand name, LeafGuard?

http://www.leafguard.com/faqs.php

Good point, which I was trying to make, but worded poorly.
I personally would line the gutter, the guard & zig zag the first few feet of the roof eave. Oh and the downspouts also. Will give a good path for the melt to run off.

 

[Exmasonite]

I have the leafguards on my gutters and have been having some ice dam issues also.

I have purchased 240' of the heated cord and am going to run it on a zigzag pattern along with lower 1-2' of my roof using the provided clips. This is per the diagram supplied on the cord. I'm wondering if this will be enough to prevent ice dam formation. Worst case scenario, it drips off house and gutters stay frozen.

I've also considered running it in the cutter or possibly using zip ties to attach to the underside of the cutter. I would hope that if i can get good enough contact b/w the cord and underside of the gutter, there'd be enough heat transferrence to keep the water in the gutter from freezing up.

Edit: I have the gutter helmets, not the leafguards, in case that matters.

and, btw, my gutter helmets have 8-10 nice gouges from my overzealous use of the ice chisel and one big dent in the lower eave when i under threw one of the large pieces of ice from the upper roof. oh what fun!

 

[gpcollen1]

First year with gutter guards. All I did was a half-assed run of heating wire to fix my ice dam issues. You just have to have a spot for the water to run off.