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Ice dam removal is costly, but it’s absolutely worth it. If you leave an ice dam as is and don’t take care of it, you’re looking at potentially dangerous situations and high-cost repairs—like roof collapse, leaks, mold problems, gutter damage, and more. Removing ice dams is essential to keeping your home and your family safe in the snowy season.

Most roofs can take quite a bit of weight from snow, but their ability to handle heavy snow is not unlimited. Most roofs can handle about 20 pounds per cubic foot of fresh snow. Ice, ice dams, and other factors can contribute to dangerous roof weight. Newer roofs, sloped roofs, and those that have more support can hold more snow than older roofs, flat roofs, and roofs with widely spaced beams. To figure out how much snow your roof can hold, you will need to contact a professional roofing contractor to calculate the maximum snow load for your specific roof.

It’s possible to use a torch to melt ice on your garage door, but we don’t recommend it. It’s very easy to bring the flame too close to the door, which can melt the weather stripping or even the garage door itself. You’ll melt ice quickly with a torch, but the damage you’re likely to cause can end up costing you a few hundred dollars to fix, which isn’t worth it. Instead, we recommend pouring hot water over the frozen area or using a less intense heat source, like a hair dryer or space heater.

If you live in a cold climate with frequent heavy snowfall, investing in a snow blower may be worth the cost. Another thing to consider when factoring in cost is if you have physical limitations that make shoveling snow difficult or even dangerous. So, you may want to start shopping around for a snow blower if you have either or both of these scenarios.