Ice dam removal

What is actually happening up there

Heat leaking from the house warms the underside of the roof deck. Snow on the warm part melts, runs down, and refreezes when it reaches the cold overhang beyond the exterior wall. That ridge of ice grows, and the next round of meltwater backs up behind it and finds its way under the shingles.

Shingles shed water running downhill. They are not designed to hold back a pond, which is exactly what an ice dam creates.

Steam, not chisels and not a hatchet

Ice is removed with low-pressure steam. It melts the dam without touching the roof underneath.

The alternatives do real damage. Chipping with a hammer or a chisel breaks shingles that are brittle in the cold. Pressure washing strips granules. Both leave you with a roof that leaks in the spring for a new reason.

Fixing it so it does not come back

Removing the ice is the emergency. The permanent fix is stopping the heat loss: air sealing the attic floor, getting the insulation right, and making sure the soffit-to-ridge ventilation is actually moving air rather than being blocked by insulation stuffed into the eaves.

A cold roof does not form ice dams. That is the whole objective.

Before the season, if you can

The cheapest time to deal with ice dams is in the fall, when we can look at the attic and the ventilation without a foot of snow in the way. If you had dams last winter, you will have them again unless something changes.