Installing a Snow Melting System
Snow Melting Project
Living in the North means shoveling snow and salting your walkway and stairs. Over time it becomes a hassle and that’s why I think so many folks become “snow birds” as they get older. Let’s face it – who wants’ to deal with snow, ice and slipping hazards are you get older and your body becomes more fragile?
Why Install a Snow Melting System:
At first it seems that a installing snows melt system is a complete luxury and a remodeling budget buster until you put your liability hat on and consider what one insurance claim or law suit costs.
A snow and ice melt system is a huge liability reducer and extremely useful if you have a high traffic business or have someone living in your household that is elderly or handicapped. One bad fall can ruin your whole day… year! Avoiding slips and falls can save from litigation and costly surgeries or loss of work!
Snow Melt Systems Work while You Sleep:
The beauty of having a snow melt system is that it is automatic. Sensors built into the system monitor environmental conditions and turn the system on and off as needed.
The system will melt snow and ice while you’re away, at work or sleeping. There is no need to wake up early to take care of the walkway.
Snow Melt Systems Don’t Need Caustic Chemical:
The beauty of having a system melt snow and ice off your steps and walkway means you do not need to purchase, store and use caustic chemicals or rock salt to keep your walkways and steps clear and safe.
Chemicals and salts damage concrete and hard-scape as well damage landscape plantings.
Designing Our Snow Melt System:
For this project we chose a snow melt system from WarmlyYours.com, a company who designs durable, high quality indoor and outdoor snow melt and heating products. Their heating cables are designed to be go under concrete, under pavers, asphalt or masonry walkway, driveways or basement slabs.
WarmlyYours worked with us to design a custom fitted system for the existing walkway and supplied a drawing and complete instructions on how to correctly install our system. Every project manager is involved in a Warmly Yours design.
They approve of the design with you and follow the project to the end. I was impressed with the level of customer attention and service WarmlyYours provided.
They have both mat and cable snow melting systems, because we had steps to transition to as well as the walkway had a ninety degree turn, we used a cable system on our project. That system included:
- 377′ of snow melt heat cable. [Uses 4500 watts at 240V]
- Relay panel [30A-240V breaker at the relay box]
- Snow sensor
CONSTRUCTION TIP –
In order to transition from the landing to the step and then to the walkway I used a Bosch 
grinder and diamond blade to cut off the corner of the concrete block.
The stone veneer comes with corner blocks that cover all of the corners. By grinding away the concrete blocks corner I was able to create a channel for the snow melt cable to run behind the corner stone.
