3 Ways to Minimize Ice Dam Removal Costs

But you also want to minimize costs whenever possible.

Obviously, this means your first task is to avoid getting ripped off by hiring an unethical company.  You’ll get ripped off if you hire substandard ice dam removal services—like ones that can only charge $90/hour because they don’t pay for the proper equipment (ice dam steamers) or training for their “technicians.”  Their inexperience often results in a damaged roof for you, and most likely costs that your insurance won’t cover.  We say your insurance because at $90/hour, they clearly do not have any.

But even with an honest and experienced team of ice dam removers, it’s still possible to rack up a needlessly large bill.

There’s one fact you must know about all legitimate ice dam removal companies: the clock starts running as soon as the truck arrives.  Every one of them (Ice Dam Guys^® included) charges you by the hour.

Sure, you have to pay ice dam companies for the work that only they can do, which needs to get done in order to keep your home safe.  But to the extent you can reduce the total amount of time they spend at your house, you can reduce the total costs of ice dam removal.

There are 3 specific ways you can reduce the amount of time that any ice dam removal service spends “on the clock” at your home:

1: Remove any snow from your roof with a roof rake

If there’s snow on your roof, we’ll have to go up and shovel it before we can remove your ice dams.  This can take several hours and can add hundreds of dollars to your bill.  DO NOT walk on your roof to shovel: it’s a great way to get killed, and you can easily damage your shingles with improper technique.  Buy a roof rake and clear the snow right before the ice dam removal truck arrives: it’s a safe way to save money.

2: Make sure there’s a running water source

If your spigot outside is frozen, we certainly have the equipment to thaw it out (no worries there!), but that takes time and resources on our part, and therefore will cost you a little extra.

3: Be ready for us to come over

It’s fine with us if you take the 20 minutes to change out of your bunny slippers and into your snow boots, but we’ll have to charge you for that time (simply because we could just as easily spend that time at another job).

4 (secret bonus): Avoid being too chatty

Don’t get us wrong: we’re a friendly bunch of guys, and we’d love to hear about your recent safari in Africa during our off-hours.  But as long as we’re at your home, we’re on the clock.

So when we show up to your home to remove your ice dams, you won’t hurt our feelings in the least if the first thing you say is “Get to work NOW!”  We’ll simply think you’re a smart homeowner who’s trying to save.

Ice dam removal is like going to the movies.  Even fair movie theaters that don’t gouge you on tickets can still make a fortune off of you if everyone in your family orders a $9 bag of popcorn and a $5 soda.  But if you can bring some snacks, going to a movie can be pretty affordable, because you’re only paying for the tickets.

Likewise, a quality ice dam removal job will cost you a certain amount (think of it as the movie ticket).  But if you can avoid paying the ice dam removers for all the other stuff, you can reduce the time they spend on the job, and reduce the total costs of ice dam removal.