Professional Roof Heat Tape Installation
Kuhl’s Contracting is the largest installer of ice dam prevention heat tape systems in Minnesota. Our crews travel the country installing the stuff, so if you happen to life near the Twin Cities, you’re in luck! We install the Heat Tape PRO™ Ice Dam Prevention System, the world’s most advanced self-regulating heat cable paired with a line of patented, roof-safe roof clips and accessories that keep your home safe and free of ice dams.
10-Year Warranty
The Heat Tape PRO ice dam prevention system has the longest warranty in the industry, five times longer than cheap, hardware store brands like EasyHeat and Frost King.
Experience – No One Installs More Heat Tape in Minnesota!
We are experts in the field of ice dam and gutter ice mitigation. When we visit your home you will understand this quickly. The KUHL family of companies includes The Ice Dam Company (the largest and oldest ice dam removal business in the United States) and Kuhl Design + Build (An award winning residential construction company established in 1999). Why does this matter? Because our understanding of your ice dam issue is based on a vast amount of experience and our heat cable installation techs are pros. We work on any roof system, at any height with any gutter and drain system attached.
Heat Cable Installation Cost – Minneapolis & St. Paul
We get it. You’ve probably never had heat tape installed before, and if you have it wasn’t a commercial-grade, bad ass system (That’s why you’re reading this). 50% of our roof de-icing heat cable system installations involve tearing out old, cheap EasyHeat or Frost King heat cables. It’s better to put in a real system the first time.
So, what does a professionally installed heat tape system cost? In short, it depends on a few key factors, including:
- Heat Cable Footage: We install systems as short as 30′ into thousands of feet in the case of our commercial projects. We charge by the running foot of cable, normally somewhere between $12 and $17 per foot of cable. Calculating the cost to use heat cable in gutters alone is quite simple (just measure the gutter and downspout sections and multiple by $12-$17). Most of our ice dam prevention projects involve installing a zig-zag (or ‘serpentine’) cable pattern along the eaves, which means each running foot of eave requires more than one foot of cable. See the Heat Cable System Glossary of Terms, below, for a better understanding of what we’re talking about.
- Site Considerations: Factors like site access and the height of the area where we are installing heat tape are also cost drives in our estimates. Simple one-story jobs are easier than four story beasts.
- Cable Type: Yes. It’s true. Our cable systems cost more per foot than the disposable type you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes (EasyHeat and Frost King). But you get what you pay for and if you care to geek out and understand some of the differences, see the section below titled “The Difference Between Constant Wattage and Self-Regulating Heat Cable”. Most people who bother to learn about the difference would never install the cheap stuff.
- Average cost of complete ice dam prevention heat tape system in Minnesota: Because we benefit from doing hundreds of these systems over 30 years, we have a pretty good sense for average price ranges. The typical cost for our systems ranges between $800 and $2800. That’s a broad range, we know. But in the course of a short conversation with one of our experts on the phone we can probably get a tighter range.
The Difference Between Constant Wattage Heat Cable and Self-Regulating Heat Cable
Many homeowners turn to big-box stores for heat tape to prevent ice dams, but most of these products are constant wattage heat cables. What does “constant wattage” mean? It means the heat tape operates at full power continuously. Once plugged in, it’s always running at maximum capacity, leading to high energy consumption. Over the course of a winter season, these energy costs can add up quickly.
If you thought you were saving money by opting for cheap heat tape from your local home improvement store, think again. The higher operating costs, combined with reduced energy efficiency, can ultimately result in spending far more than anticipated. For more efficient and cost-effective ice dam prevention, consider self-regulating heat cables, which adjust their power output based on the surrounding temperature—saving you energy and reducing costs. Here are some other important differences between constant wattage heat cable and self-regulating heat cable (All of this information is taken directly from the installation manuals for EasyHeat and Frost King)
| Heat Tape PRO™ Self-Regulating Heat Cable | Constant Wattage Heat Cable |
|---|---|
| Ten year warranty | One to two year two-year warranty |
| Can be used on ANY roofing material including asphalt composite shingles, rubber membrane, TPO, wood, tile, slate, torch down and more | Can not cannot be used on metal roofs, rubber roofs, wood roofs, flat roofs, slate roofs, tile roofs, synthetic roofs or roofs with gutter guards |
| Can overlap itself without risk of shorting out and overheating. | Can’t overlap or touch itself at any point on the installation. If it does, it can burn out, overheat and/or start on fire |
| Will not start leaves or pine needles on fire. There’s not need to ‘maintain’ the system by removing leaves from around the cable each year | Combustibles such as leaves and pine needles to be cleared away frequently from constant wattage cables to reduce the risk of fire |
| Can be repaired in place and can be modified with splices to accommodate any design | Can not can not be repaired if damaged. One little bit of damage and the cable is trashed |
| Effective at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit | Will not work at temperatures below 15 degrees and can make ice dams worse if used below that threshold |
| Can safely touch metal objects such as gutters and gutter guards without requirement for electrical grounding | Can not touch any metal on your roof including valley flashings, gutters, plumbing flashings, and skylights unless that metal is electrically grounded by a licensed electrician |
| Can be installed quickly using Grip Clips, which eliminates the need to put nail holes through the roof system | The clips that come supplied with constant wattage cable are flimsy and cheap, often pulling loose within a few months of installation |
| Adjusts its energy consumption in response to outdoor temperatures, making it much more energy efficient than constant wattage | Constant wattage asks for the same energy no matter the outdoor temperatures and operate at 100% capacity whenever plugged in |
Heat Tape System Glossary of Terms
