Storm & Ice · Chicagoland
Ice Dam Removal, the Right Way — Filmed in a Chicago Winter
01The Job
February speciality: a ridge of ice at the roof edge, meltwater backing up under the shingles, and a ceiling stain spreading two rooms away. Filmed so you can see how it's actually done.
An ice dam is a plumbing problem made of weather. Heat escaping the attic melts the snowpack, the melt runs to the cold eave, refreezes, and builds a ridge that traps the next day's melt behind it — where the only place left to go is under your shingles.
The wrong fix is a guy with a hatchet. Every winter we see shingle lines chopped to pieces by someone attacking the ice. The film shows the right fix: the dam removed without destroying the roof holding it up.
Inside, the meltwater gets the standard water-loss treatment — moisture mapping to find how far it traveled inside the walls, drying, and repair of what it stained.
And because a dam that formed once will form again, the attic side gets looked at too: insulation and ventilation, the actual cause of the whole cycle.
02Watch The Job
Cameras were rolling.
03How It Went
The loss
Ice dam at the eaves pushing meltwater under the shingles and into the house.
The removal
Dam cleared without hatchet damage to the shingle field.
Inside
Meltwater tracked with moisture mapping, dried, and the staining repaired.
The prevention
Attic insulation and ventilation assessed — the reason dams form in the first place.
