Installing a heated driveway when you build or re-pour a driveway is a great way to increase the value of your home, and make it more sellable.  Even if you don’t want to activate the heated driveway, installing the components when you pour can still add value and allow a future owner to finish the project with minimal expense.  Start by installing the bare necessities. A popular option we have with our driveway heating systems is to “rough-in” the basic components for the heated driveway. Roughing-in a snow melting system consists of installing only the materials needed at the time of pouring a new concrete driveway.

Components Needed for Rough-in:

1) Driveway Rough-in Kit – The “rough-in” kit contains a backplate, cold lead, and splices. The backplate is installed between studs on a wall and the control unit for the driveway heating system is mounted to the backplate. The cold lead is a non-hot wire that is used to run power from the control unit to the low-voltage heating cable. Splices are used to connect the cold lead to the cable.

2) Driveway Heating Element – A heat resistant cable is the electric heating element used for all driveway snow melting applications. The cable is secured to the remesh, spaced at 6 inches and raised with the remesh (using MeshUps, dobies or chairs) to be within 2 inches of the surface. The concrete is then poured over the cable.

Preparing a Driveway Heating System
The materials for your “heat ready driveway” can be purchased for only a couple of dollars – or less – per square foot. You can then purchase the remainder of your snowmelt system at a later time. Even if you never activate your heated driveway, “roughing-in” a driveway heating system will increase the resale value of your home.