Ice Clearing

Ice dam steaming in Stowe — stop the leak without wrecking the roof

Roof ice is not a shovel problem. It is water trapped at the eave, a dam that backs up under the shingles, and a stain on the ceiling of a house you may not be standing in. Stowe Home Care Maintenance steams ice dams with high-temp, low-pressure steam — safe on asphalt and metal roofs, and a lot safer than the axes and roof shovels people still use.

If you have an active leak, that dam is the root cause. We can typically solve it in a couple of hours once we are on the roof. Call (802) 888-7736. We have been the local crew since 1980. This winter we are ramping roof-ice work across northern Vermont from the same Stowe base.

The pain that actually gets you on the phone

Water in the house while the roof still looks "fine"
The dam is at the eave. Heat from the attic melts snow, water runs to the cold edge, freezes, and the next melt has nowhere to go but under the shingles. A second-home owner finds it from a neighbor text or a smart-leak sensor. Steaming the dam lets the water leave. A tarp in the hallway does not.

Someone offered to chop it
Axes, ice bars, and roof rakes used as chisels take ice and shingles together. Metal roofs dent. Asphalt granules go with the chunks. We steam. The ice lets go. The roof stays a roof.

You already have a plow and still have a leak
Driveway ice and roof ice are different jobs. The 2-inch plow trigger on /projects/snow-removal does not melt a dam. If you own both a steep drive and a roof that ices, book both. Do not assume the snow crew is also on the shingles.

How steam ice-dam work actually runs

High temperature, low pressure
Steam melts the bond. We are not blasting the roof. Asphalt and metal are the roofs we steam; if the surface is already failing, we tell you before we start.

An active leak is a now job
Call. We come to the dam, not to "take a look next week." Typical Stowe calls that are truly a dam — not a failed valley that needs a carpenter — are hours, not days, once we are on site.

What we need from you
Address, roof type if you know it (asphalt or metal), where it is leaking, and whether anyone is in the house. Photos from the ground help. Do not send a person onto a glazed roof with a shovel while you wait.

This season

We are pushing roof-ice steaming hard this winter — Stowe first, then the towns we already run for snow and property care. Northern Vermont demand is real; capacity is a crew and a steamer, not a marketing page. Get on the list before the first ice-dam week, not during it.

Related: snow and lot ice → /projects/snow-removal · second-home checks → /projects/property-management · HOA roofs and common buildings → /projects/hoa-services

Areas we serve

Stowe is home base: mountain drives, second homes, inns, and HOAs. The trucks start here.

Waterbury is second-home country off the mountain — same freeze, same empty-week risk, same crew.

Morrisville is the village; Morristown is the town. Commercial lots, year-round houses, and drives that take plow abuse all winter.

Hyde Park drives are long and rural. Washouts and winter access are the usual calls.

Elmore is camp and seasonal-house country — properties that go dark between weekends.

Bolton and Richmond sit west toward the gap. We take jobs that fit the Stowe-based route, not every driveway in Chittenden.

Waitsfield, Fayston, and Moretown are Mad River towns we already run for snow, drainage, and house checks. Stowe owns the headline; these are towns the crew actually reaches.

If you are on the county line, call (802) 888-7736. Driveway and route fit matter more than the map.

Call (802) 888-7736.


Roof ice FAQ

Why steam ice dams instead of shovels and axes?
Shovels and axes break ice by breaking the roof. High-temp, low-pressure steam melts the dam so water can leave the way it was designed to â without chopping shingles or standing on a glazed pitch with a tool. We use steam on asphalt and metal roofs. If someone is already on your roof with an axe, stop them and call.

Is steam safe on asphalt and metal roofs?
Yes. That is why we use it. Low pressure, high temperature: the ice lets go; the roof stays. We do not power-wash ice off, and we do not chip it. If a roof is already failing, we will say so before we start.

We have an active leak. How fast can you stop it?
If the leak is an ice dam â water backing up under the shingles and into the house â steaming the dam is the root-cause fix, not a bucket in the hall. On a typical Stowe call we can solve that in a couple of hours once we are on the roof. Call (802) 888-7736. Do not wait for a âwarmer day.â

Is this the same as driveway ice after a plow?
No. Driveway and lot ice is a snow-route problem: blades, de-icer, logs for liability. That lives on /projects/snow-removal. This page is roof ice: dams, ice along the eaves, and leaks. Pair them if you own a second home that both needs a plow and a roof that does not dump into the kitchen.

Do you steam roofs outside Stowe?
Stowe is home base. We are ramping roof-ice steaming across northern Vermont this season â same locked towns we already run for snow and property care. If you are on the county line, call. Roof access and travel matter more than the town name.