Icicles along the gutter look charming until water starts dripping from your ceiling in February. Ice dams are a Dearborn specialty — heat escaping into the attic melts roof snow, which refreezes at the cold eaves and forces water uphill under your shingles. Chipping the ice treats the symptom. We remove it safely now and fix the cause so it doesn't come back.
When an ice dam is actively forcing water into the house, the dam has to go — carefully. We use low-pressure steam, which melts a channel through the ice without damaging shingles. What we never do: chop with axes, use high-pressure washers, or throw salt on the roof — all of which destroy shingles and flashing.
Steam removal stops the immediate leak. It doesn't prevent the next dam.
Ice dams form because the roof deck is warm where it should be cold. The lasting fix is building science, not roofing heroics: seal air leaks from the living space into the attic, bring insulation up to proper depth, and balance intake (soffit) with exhaust (ridge) ventilation so the entire deck stays near outdoor temperature.
We assess your attic as a system — insulation depth, bypasses around lights and chases, ventilation math — and quote the fix that ends the cycle.
Post-war bungalows and colonials — a huge share of Dearborn's housing — were built when attic insulation was an afterthought and nobody thought about ventilation balance. Add Michigan's freeze-thaw rhythm and heavy snow years, and you get textbook dam conditions. The good news: these homes respond very well to air-sealing and insulation upgrades.
Low-pressure steam removal that doesn't damage shingles.
We find why the dam formed, not just where.
Intake and exhaust engineered to keep the deck cold.
Removal and permanent fix quoted separately, in writing.
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Ice dam removed and eave ventilation corrected. Representative example — not a photo of a client job.
Photo-documented inspection. Written quote before work starts. The cheapest repair is the one you make now.
Call (313) 769-7896