WI Ice Dam Solutions exhibited at the 49th annual Milwaukee Nari Spring Home and Garden Show February 10th - 13th. By all measurements the show was a tremendous success. The number of attendees was up over last year, those stopping at the booth seemed to be more likely to follow through on projects, our new booth was more interactive, and the weather had ice dams on everyones mind.
Some feedback from those who stopped at the booth:
Those who had tried everything else (insulation, ventilation, new roof, roof repair, zig zag cables, etc.) were very interested in our products. Some had felt conned by other contractors who promised results, didn't deliver and now wouldn't return calls. One customer lamented that two years ago new roof, last year new insulation, this year still had ice dams. He is very interested in our system. There were also those who walked by and pointed out that all that was needed was more insulation. Perhaps he was the contractor that had promised results to the customers who were at my booth. We completely understand that better insulation is valuable, that ventilation can play a roll, and air sealing is essential. However, those tools cannot stop the sun from shining, temperatures from fluctuating above and below freezing, and the insulating effect of snow. If a customer is lacking insulation and has air by-pass issues, we recommend these problems be treated first. Then address the remaining problems with a well designed roof ice melt system.
Other attendees shared their problems with various types of gutter protection. One was a gentleman who I had met with last year about ice dam problems. He opted not to go with our ice dam solutions products, choosing instead to install Leafguard™ Brand all in one gutter protection. This gutter guard incorporates a reverse curve hood that causes water to flow over the top and around the front lip. The debris is supposed to fall off the front without entering the gutter system. These can work well with most leaves. The gentleman who I had visited last year had said he installed them because he felt the design would aid in solving his ice dam problems. He indicated that he had just thrown his money into a big garbage can. Reverse curve gutter protection builds up so quickly with ice that many customers report severe ice dams and icicle problems after installing these products. It was unfortunate for this gentleman. He didn't really need new gutters or gutter protection. He spent thousands on something that made his problem worse. I wonder if these issues were discussed with the salesman? Another attendee commented on his reverse curve gutter protection. His brand actually had a heat cable system built into the mounting brackets. He had two heat cables directly under the cover and one heat cable in the bottom of the gutter. This should have been more that sufficient to keep up with ice and snow melting on the cover. He said that it would not melt snow and ice unless it was above 25 degrees. The result was the ice dams would form, leak into his house and cause dry wall damage. After visiting this gentleman's home and looking at the design, it was apparent why his system was ineffective. The heat cable supported by the mounting brackets offered poor heat transfer to the helmet itself. We have redesigned this installation and will be performing the work in the coming weeks.
We also noticed how many people were unaware that an effective heat cable based system actually existed. Bylin Engineered Systems patented this product and has been installing on resorts, businesses, condominiums, and residences since the mid 1990's. With over 120 miles of the RIM System on over 7000 projects it has been proven and tested effective.
New Product Release! 
We featured a new Heated Gutter Protection - The VersaScreen IceBlaster - at the show. It features an heavy guage (.040) aluminum base. The screen has 1/8" round hole perforations and is powder coated matte black. The integrated drip lip keeps the debris off the front of the gutters and minimizes 'tiger striping' - the striped staining that occurs on many gutters. The built in self regulating heat cable is placed at the outer edge to minimize icicle and ice dam build up. The product has been installed on many homes in Wisconsin over the last couple of years and the feed back has been positive. Both on price and performance it has proven to be a better choice than other similar heated gutter guards on the market. In fact, we have been removing some of those products when they failed to perform and installed the IceBlaster. The unheated version - VersaScreen Pro has done well in our area as well. If offers a good balance between installed cost and ability to keep gutters from plugging up with leaves.
We at WI Ice Dam Solutions look forward to the coming year of solving ice dam, icicle and icing issues for many customers. We offer a free evaluation and consultation. If you are going through the roofing process, we can assist there, too. Many roofing contractors do not thoroughly understand the causes of ice damming and that can affect their solutions. We can offer our expertise to help prevent future problems and expenses.