Ice Dam Removal in St. Cloud, MN
St. Cloud has every kind of roof, from old homes near downtown to new builds at the edge of town. Ice dams find all of them. We take them off with low-pressure steam.
Based in ClearwaterAbout 20 minutes up I-94 from our Clearwater base.
Leak calls firstWater coming in? Calls get scheduled ahead of planned work.
Steam onlyLow pressure. No hammers, chisels, salt or pressure washers.
Hourly, quoted firstYou get the rate and a clear plan before any work starts.
Ice dam removal in St. Cloud
St. Cloud is the biggest city we work in and the one with the most variety. Old neighborhoods near downtown and St. Cloud State, post-war ramblers, newer subdivisions, apartment buildings and storefronts sit on both sides of the Mississippi. The roofs are different, but the problem is the same. Heat from inside melts the snow, and the water freezes again at the cold edge.
We're about 20 minutes down I-94 in Clearwater. When you call, we'll ask what you're seeing, give you our hourly rate and a plan, and get a crew there as quickly as conditions allow. If water is already inside, your call goes to the front of the line.
Why St. Cloud's older homes get hit hard
A lot of the housing near downtown and the university was built long before anyone thought much about attic insulation. Story-and-a-half homes are the classic case. The upstairs rooms sit right under the roof, with short knee walls and sloped ceilings, and there's very little space between the warm room and the cold shingles. Heat goes straight through, melts the snow mid-roof, and the cold overhang freezes it into a dam.
Many of those older homes have also been added onto. A back porch closed in, a kitchen bumped out, a dormer added upstairs. Every place where one roof meets another is a spot where snow drifts and water collects. Mature yard and boulevard trees add shade, so parts of a roof stay frozen while the rest melts.
Toward the edges of the city, the houses are newer and the problems shift: ramblers and split-levels with low-slope sections, and two-stories with vaulted ceilings and recessed lights. On the commercial side, apartment buildings, offices and storefronts deal with ice at canopies, entries and low-slope roof edges. There, a leak lands on a tenant, and a dripping overhang freezes on a walkway.
Signs to look for in St. Cloud homes
- A stain or soft spot on a sloped upstairs ceiling in a story-and-a-half, often where the slope meets the knee wall
- Ice building where an addition or closed-in porch roof ties into the main house
- Icicles that form over the same window every winter, which points to heat loss right above it
- Ice at a commercial entry canopy or over a walkway, where melt drips and refreezes on the concrete
How a visit goes in St. Cloud
A St. Cloud visit starts on the phone. Tell us what kind of building it is, where the ice is and whether water is coming in. We'll go over roof height, how much snow is on it and how easy it is to set ladders, then give you the hourly rate and a clear plan before any work starts. On site, leaks come first: we steam drainage channels through the dam so trapped water drains. Then we take the dam off the roof edge, open up the gutters and downspouts, and send before-and-after photos. For rentals and commercial buildings, those photos are easy to pass along to an owner or a board.
Services in St. Cloud
Here's what we handle for St. Cloud homes, rentals and commercial buildings.
The same steam process on every St. Cloud roof.
Steam melts a path through the ice so trapped water can drain before larger sections come off.
Cut drainage channels
Low-pressure steam opens channels through the dam, giving trapped water a path to drain.
Clear the roof edge
With a drainage path open, steam separates ice along the roofline without chopping at shingles.
Clear gutters and downspouts
Packed gutters and downspouts come out last, so the water has somewhere to go.
St. Cloud ice dam FAQ
Don't see your question? Call 320-760-7280 and describe what you're seeing.
How fast can you get to St. Cloud?
We're based about 20 minutes away in Clearwater. A call with water coming inside gets the first open slot, and same-day is the goal when the schedule allows. After a big storm the phone gets busy, so we'll give you an honest time when you call instead of a guess.
I have a story-and-a-half. Why does the upstairs ceiling leak every winter?
Those upstairs rooms sit right under the roof with little insulation between them and the shingles. Heat melts the snow above the room, and it refreezes at the eave. We'll clear the dam and the lower roof, and once the snow is gone we can talk through what usually helps on that style of house.
I own a rental near campus. Can you work with my tenants?
Yes. Tell us how to reach the tenant and whether we need to look at a leak inside. We handle the outside work and send you the photos, so you can see what was done without driving over.
Do you clear ice on commercial buildings in St. Cloud?
Yes. We clear eaves, entry canopies and low-slope roof edges on apartment buildings, offices and storefronts. Call 320-760-7280 to talk through the building and when the work can happen around your hours.
Towns near St. Cloud we also serve.
Get ahead of roof ice.
Schedule ice dam removal, or call now if water is coming into your home. Don't climb onto an icy roof. Keep clear of falling ice and let a pro take it from here.