Fred Zimmerman says expanding his construction and roofing business to include steam ice dam removal was a natural decision, one he made in 2015.
After several years of providing the more traditional “hammer and chisel” treatment which – especially in the hands of a DIY repair guy – too often results in roof damage, he’s a convert to the power of steam.
“Back in 2015 we were getting 50 to 100 calls a day for ice leaks, and we were shoveling roofs and carefully trying to relieve the dams by creating channels every few feet. I first got steamers after I heard about them from contractors out in Minnesota, who were already using them,” says Zimmerman.
He was trained in the ways of steam ice dam removal by Professional Ice Dam Removal, a Minnesota company owned by Joe Mann with more than 20 years experience in this specialized field. He has also invested in two steamers of his own, but has access to more steamers through Professional Ice Dam Removal – machines he says can do in a few hours what it takes all day to do with manual tools.
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“The big thing is, most of the time when people are thinking about ice on their roof it’s because they’re in a panic over water coming into the house,” says Zimmerman. “By then, it’s too late.”
Although his company, Zimmerman Construction and Roofing LLC, was established in Connecticut, Zimmerman has been working his way up the New England coast as demand has increased for his services. He’s doing a lot more work in Massachusetts and this year he’s expanded into New Hampshire where he’s registered and fully licensed – just in time for what turned out to be a very snowy February.
Conditions created from back-to-back storms mean layers of snow sitting on rooftops – not only does that create the potential for heavy snow load and roof collapse, as the NH Fire Marshal’s office recently cautioned, but – depending on how well your roof is insulated – it also creates the potential for ice dams.
Zimmerman has seen a lot of roof damage over the years, and tells customers the No. 1 best solution is prevention.
“And the best prevention is insulation. You want to be able to go into your attic and see your breath – that means no heat from the house is going through the insulation to the attic, “ says Zimmerman. “If your attic is warm, you have an insulation problem. Ideally, you want the sun to melt the snow off your roof, not your attic.”
A good gauge is if your attic is as cold as the outdoor temperature during winter. Otherwise, snow will melt from the heat of your house, and then the run-off will refreeze along the edge of your roof, because it runs into the below freezing gutters, says Zimmerman.
Another sign of trouble is if you notice the other houses on your street have snow on the roof, but yours doesn’t.
“If your roof snow is already melted with large icicles hanging from the gutters while it’s below freezing, you will end up having icicles forming in the gutters – which is the beginning stages of ice dams,” says Zimmerman.
In his line of work he’s seen and heard plenty of horror stories – houses set on fire from using blow torches to relief ice dams, and shingles cracked or displaced from hammer and chisel requiring costly repair, not to mention interior water damage.
“Two years ago, after the ice storm in Boston, we were hearing from insurance adjusters about all the roofs that had to be replaced due to all the damage from improper ice removal. Once the damage is done, you have to pay someone to repair it,” Zimmerman says.
There are other ways to deal with ice dams – he most often recommends customers try calcium, which provides slow results – but in most cases, homeowners don’t have the luxury of time if they’re concerned about melting an ice dam, says Zimmerman.
“They’re probably already seeing a water problem by that time,” he says.
Other chemicals available at most hardware stores marketed as remedies for ice dams are include roof snow melt and puck-shaped salt tablets, he says. Although effective, they are slow to get the job done.
“The pucks take days to work and there have been reports that they can discolor roofs in some cases,” he says. “Maybe, as a preventative measure, but again, most people only think about things like that when it’s already too late.”
After insulation, Zimmerman’s second recommendation is a roof rake – or, even better, roof razors, which work differently and more efficiently than rakes.
“We actually use roof razors now. A rake pulls snow down from the top using force. But if it’s icy or if it’s really wet snow, you can typically only do the bottom two-to-three feet of your roof. A razor has wheels that ride on shingles and it sits about one-inch above the roof, and cuts right through the snow, which slides right off the roof, using a 10-foot tarp, like an avalanche.”
He says they are catching on.
“Just two days ago we used a roof razor for a customer, and then it snowed again later that day, and so I told the guy if you want I’ll come back and do another pass for 50 bucks. He said he didn’t need me – he already ordered one and it was on the way,” says Zimmerman. “Once one person on the street gets a razor, typically everyone else gets one. They work that well.”
There are still plenty of situations that require a professional, especially for ice dams, says Zimmerman. His services for steaming cost $450 an hour and most jobs average about three hours. His goal is to be on the job within 24 hours of getting a call, although busy season is upon us.
“I can only do about four houses a day, so when it warms up this weekend I probably will be over booked. I would recommend any company that uses steam to work on your roof for an ice problem – but definitely avoid the hammers and chisels,” Zimmerman says.
“A guy called me to price the steaming, and when I told him the price, he said he thought it was too expensive. Then, his roof leaked, and so he had to call his insurance company. They sent someone out to mitigate, and they told him to call us to steam the dam, so we ended up going out anyway,” says Zimmerman. “I’ve seen some people try using pressure washers, because either they already have one, or they’re just cheaper. But the difference there is that a heated pressure cleaner won’t get hot enough, and the pressure is too much – it can also damage a roof. The ice dam steamer operates at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and uses only 100 psi, so it’s much more efficient.”
Zimmerman says he also recommends heated gutter cables as a preventative measure, something he’ll be offering in the spring.
“You can get some store-bought cables, but they’re known not to work too well. If you get the right kind, they are effective – they turn on automatically when the temperature goes below freezing. We’re going to be installing them for customers who had trouble with ice dams this season,” says Zimmerman.
He’s promoting his ice dam steamer operation now in New Hampshire because, from his point of view, it’s the best solution with the least amount of hazard.
“Nothing works like the steamers – they’re fast and virtually damage-free,” he says.
This content is sponsored by Zimmerman Roofing and Contracting LLC. For more information call 860-303-2762, or email Fred Zimmerman at SteamIceDamRemoval@gmail.com.
