Hamilton Audio wrote:
apparently I wasn't clear - I do have an extremely effective trough
drain
right in front of the garage pad, and it works wonders.

the problem is that the driveway dips below grade (towards the
house). this
means that snow/ice melting in the sun at the top of the driveway
runs down
the driveway and by the time it gets to the bottom, its below grade
and away
from the sun entirely - so it re-freezes. VERY MUCH like an ice dam
on a
roof. The water just spills over itself and in time an ice flow of a
few
inches thick develops.

there has got to be some sort of heated wire solution for
this....I'll just
keep looking.

b
"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
I would put a drain or at least a holding basin where the water
collects. That means you may need to cut a piece of the driveway
out.
I doubt the deicing wires will provide enough power, unless the
area
is small.

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 20:05:02 GMT, "Hamilton Audio"
wrote:

I've got a montreal-style bilevel home where the driveway runs down
and
towards the house at a good slope. I have retaining walls on
either side
where the driveway goes below grade.

In the springtime, as the temps get warm enough to let the sun melt

snow/ice
at the top of the driveway and the grass, it runs down the driveway
as
gravity would have it do....but as it gets past the retaining walls
(where
the sun cannot get to, at any time of the day) it re-freezes.

sort of like an ice dam on a roof, but at the base of my driveway.
I had
to
use an air-chisel and break away large pieces of ice in the early
spring
to
keep it clear....

I am thinking about laying down a set of roof de-icing cables
across the
area to keep it thawed permanently. any thoughts? is it ok to be
driving
on these wires? I know they dont' get "hot" per se, barely warm I
know...but will I be doing damage to them by driving on them?? are
there
any more appropriate products for such a task?

bmoney

Some random thoughts:

Might it be possible to shade the top part of the driveway so it
doesn't melt?The situation is analogous to ice dams on the roof, where
the solution is to insulate the attic floor so the snow doesn't melt
and run down.

How about cutting grooves in the drive so the mel****er is channeled to
the sides and along gutters into the drain?

Instead of salt or granular ice melters, how about a liquid such as
they use at airports? Windshield washer antifreeze is perhaps a handy
equivalent. I'm thinking of some kind of automated mechanism that
sprays bursts over the area at intervals.

Hardware stores sell propane-powered firesticks for melting snow (and
killing weeds). I would not for a second entertain the notion of an
unattended gizmo built around such a thing, but it's probably the
handiest way to melt the ice once it's there.

I like the idea of heatlamps, as has already been mentioned. This would
simulate sunshine all the way down the driveway. Probably most
effective if you pre-warmed the dark driveway before the snow and ice
covered it. Propane-fired torchieres such as for patios would probably
work well if you had space for one.

I think I'd be saving my pennies for a buried heater system.
Chip C
Toronto