Instructions / Assembly

Installing the Cable

Planning the Cable Arrangement

Before laying out and attaching the cable to your roof, it is important to plan how the cable will be arranged.

To prevent ice dams, the cable pattern must be arranged so that it routes meltwater to flow from “warm areas” of the roof through the

“cold areas” and down to the ground. A “warm area” of your roof is one where snow and ice on the roof thaws because of heat loss

through inadequate roof venting and/or insufficient ceiling insulation. “Cold areas” of your roof are areas where ice typically builds up,

such as the roof surfaces above over-hangs and in gutters.

See Figures Below for Typical Cable Patterns

Figure 7 – Typical pattern along roofline and gutters

downspouts

TIP: If you will be working directly on the roof during the installation,

you may want to mark the cable pattern with chalk before attaching

the cable. If working from a ladder, you will probably want to lay out

the pattern as you attach the cable with the clips. Making a drawing of

your roof and your planned pattern on paper may be helpful.

Pattern for the Roofline: Cable laid along the roofline is arranged in a triangular pattern (see Figure 4). The cable must extend

above the overhang into the warm section of the roof. To determine the height of the triangles, measure the depth of the overhang. The

triangle heights are measured by the number of shingle rows from the roof edge (based on the standard 5 1/2 inches tab shingles). Using

Table 7, determine the height of each triangle. Using this method, the triangles will extend at least one shingle row (5 1/2 inches) into the

warm roof area.

Figure 8 – Triangle patter along roofline