Same-day emergency response across Harrisburg· Licensed & insured · Free written estimates
1000 N Cameron St, Harrisburg, PA 17103
Emergency & Storm Services
Low-pressure steam removal that does not damage shingles — plus the insulation and ventilation fix so it does not come back.
Serving Harrisburg & Dauphin County · 1000 N Cameron St, Harrisburg, PA 17103
24/7 emergency response
A person answers, day or night.
Based on N Cameron St
Local crews, not storm chasers.
Licensed & insured
Liability and workers' comp on every job.
Free written estimates
Itemized line by line, photos included.
Harrisburg averages roughly two feet of snow across a winter, delivered in a climate that swings above and below freezing constantly. That combination — snow on the roof, temperatures oscillating around 32 degrees — is precisely the recipe for ice dams.
Here is the mechanism. Heat escaping from your living space warms the roof deck. Snow on the warm upper portion melts. The meltwater runs down to the eave, which overhangs unheated space and stays cold, and refreezes there. Repeat for a few days and you have a ridge of ice at the edge of the roof with a pond of water behind it. That water has nowhere to drain, so it works its way back up under the shingles and into your house.
Two problems, then, and they need different solutions. The ice on your roof right now needs removing safely. The heat loss that created it needs fixing before next winter.
Some of these are obvious. The dangerous ones are not.
A few small icicles after a heavy snow are normal. A curtain of thick icicles means significant meltwater is refreezing at the eave, and there is a dam behind them.
Visible as a raised band of ice along the eave, often several inches thick. Behind it there is standing water on your roof deck.
Ice dam water often runs down inside the wall cavity rather than showing on the ceiling. Stains at the top of an exterior wall in February are a classic sign.
An uneven melt pattern is a map of where your heat is escaping. Bare stripes over rafter bays or a clear patch over a bathroom tells you exactly where the air leak is.
The gutter itself becomes the dam. That much weight on the fascia pulls hangers loose and rips gutters off older homes.
Frost on the underside of the sheathing means warm humid air is getting up there. That is the same problem that causes ice dams, showing itself from the inside.
Low-pressure steam, and nothing else.
Steam melts the ice at its contact point with the shingle and lets it release without touching the roof surface. It is slow, it is not cheap, and it is the only method that does not damage the roof you are trying to protect.
What we will not do, and what you should not let anyone do: chip at ice with hammers, chisels or hatchets, which cracks shingles and gouges the deck. Pressure washing, which drives water under the courses. Dumping rock salt or calcium chloride on the roof, which corrodes flashing, kills the plantings below and stains masonry. Or running a torch anywhere near a roof assembly, which is how houses burn down.
Ice dams are a building science problem that shows up as a roofing symptom. Removing the ice treats the symptom.
The permanent fix has three parts. Air sealing comes first and matters most: sealing the penetrations where warm air escapes into the attic — recessed lights, bath fans, plumbing stacks, the attic hatch, the top plates of interior walls. Insulation comes second, brought to a consistent depth with no gaps at the eaves. Ventilation comes third, with intake at the soffit and exhaust at the ridge so the attic runs at close to outdoor temperature.
Do those three and your roof stops melting snow from underneath. We also install ice and water shield well past the interior wall line on every roof we replace, which means that even if a dam forms, the water behind it hits a waterproof membrane instead of your ceiling. More detail in how to prevent ice dams before winter hits Harrisburg.
Our process
No surprises, no change orders you did not agree to, and photographs of anything we find before it gets covered.
We check whether water is actively entering and how much ice is involved, and we give you a realistic arrival window during a winter event.
Low-pressure steam clears channels through the dam first to relieve the standing water, then removes the mass without touching the shingles.
Frozen gutters and downspouts are cleared so the next melt actually drains instead of rebuilding the dam.
We find where the water got in and where the heat is getting out. That is two different locations and both matter.
Shingles, underlayment and flashing damaged by the dam or by previous removal attempts get repaired once conditions allow.
A written scope for air sealing, insulation and ventilation, prioritized by what will actually change the outcome next winter.
Why us for this job
Roofing is a trade with a reputation problem and a good share of it is earned. Here is what is different about how this job runs with us.
Ask any contractor for these before you sign
Steam releases the ice at its contact point with the shingle without touching the roof surface. Chipping cracks shingles and gouges decking, pressure washing drives water under the courses, and salt corrodes your flashing and gutters. We do none of those and neither should anyone else.
Before removing the mass, we steam channels through the dam so the standing water behind it drains immediately. That stops the leak while the rest of the work is still going on.
A frozen gutter simply rebuilds the dam at the next melt. Clearing it is part of the job, not a separate call-out.
Every removal includes an attic look, because the dam is a symptom. Air sealing, insulation depth and eave baffles are what stop it recurring, and we put that in writing so next winter is cheaper than this one.
Honest pricing
Steam removal is priced by the linear feet of dam and the time on site. It is genuinely slow work in bad conditions, which is why it is not cheap — and it is far less expensive than the drywall, insulation and mold remediation that follow a week of water in a wall cavity.
Ice dam damage is often covered by homeowners insurance as sudden water damage, though the underlying maintenance cause typically is not. We document it either way — read is ice dam damage covered by homeowners insurance?.
A single problem eave is quick. Ice along three elevations plus frozen gutters is most of a day.
Steam removal rate is roughly constant, so a foot-thick dam simply takes longer than a three-inch one.
Icy ground, steep pitches and third-story eaves all add setup and safety time.
Mid-storm calls cost more than scheduled removal once the weather settles. If water is not entering, waiting a day is cheaper.
Air sealing and insulation work is priced separately, and it is the part that saves you money every winter afterward.
Where we do this work
Ice dams follow elevation and attic condition, and both point north and east. The heaviest demand sits in Linglestown, Skyline View, Paxtonia and the higher parts of Lower Paxton Township, where more snow falls than in the city. Inside Harrisburg the calls come from the older, less-insulated housing in Uptown, Camp Curtin and Italian Lake, and from the 1950s stock in Camp Hill where original solid soffits mean no intake at all.
FAQs
The questions Harrisburg homeowners actually ask us on this job.
You can safely rake snow off the lower few feet of roof from the ground, and that helps. Do not get on the roof, do not chip at the ice, and do not throw salt up there. Chipping cracks shingles and salt corrodes your flashing and gutters.
They can create a drainage channel through a dam, which helps in a specific problem spot. They do not address the heat loss causing the dam, they use electricity all winter, and they fail over time. We treat them as a supplement, not a solution.
Almost always insulation and air sealing. Two identical rowhomes in Uptown can behave completely differently depending on whether someone sealed the attic hatch and the recessed lights.
It helps considerably, because snow slides off before it can melt and refreeze. It is one of the strongest arguments for metal roofing on Central PA homes with a history of dams.
It is priced by the linear feet of dam and the time on site, and it is genuinely slow work — steam melts ice at a fairly constant rate, so a foot-thick dam simply takes longer than a three-inch one. A single problem eave might be a couple of hours; ice along three elevations plus frozen gutters is most of a day. We quote it on the phone once you describe what you are looking at. It costs considerably less than the drywall, insulation and mould remediation that follow a week of water inside a wall cavity, which is the comparison that actually matters.
Keep reading
Same-day leak detection and repair for active leaks anywhere in Harrisburg and Dauphin County.
Learn moreStanding seam and metal roofing engineered for Susquehanna Valley wind, snow load and freeze-thaw.
Learn moreSeamless gutters, correctly sized downspouts and guards that survive Central PA leaf load and ice.
Learn more
Emergency Guides
Ice dam water does not usually come through the ceiling. It comes down inside the wall, which is why people find it late. Here is what to do tonight.
January 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Prevention & Maintenance
Every ice dam in Harrisburg is caused by heat you paid for escaping into your attic. Fix that and the dams stop — permanently.
November 5, 2025 · 8 min read
Free inspection, written report and a line-item estimate. Call (855) 705-1940 or send us the details and we will come look.
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