Ice dam removal and roof snow removal in Meridian
Steam, not hammers. We open a channel through the dam tonight so the leak stops, rake the load before the rain comes, and fix the reason it happened — attic heat and a missing ice barrier.
Meridian's design criteria don't require an ice barrier at the eaves, so most of the city's roofs don't have one. That was fine until the winter of 2016–17: 39 inches of snow in Boise, 21 of them in January, then rain on top of the snowpack, then a hard freeze. Meridian declared a state of emergency. Dozens of flat commercial roofs in the valley collapsed, and thousands of pitched residential roofs did the quieter thing — the attic heat melted the bottom of the snowpack, the meltwater ran to the cold eave and froze, the dam grew for a week, and the water backed up under the shingles into ceilings, walls and light fixtures. Most of those roofs had no ice barrier, felt underlayment, and soffit vents stuffed with insulation.
When you have a dam and a leak, the emergency fix is a channel through it so the water can drain, and the only safe way to cut that channel is low-pressure steam — not a hammer, a chisel, a pressure washer or a bag of rock salt, all of which we get called to repair in March. Before a rain-on-snow forecast we roof-rake the load off the bottom six feet of the roof, which is where the dam forms and where the weight matters most. And once the weather breaks, the permanent fix is three parts: balance the attic ventilation, air-seal the ceiling so heat stops reaching the deck, and put a self-adhered ice barrier from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line — which we do on every roof we replace, whether the code asks or not.
What's included
Steam ice-dam removal
Low-pressure steam that melts a channel through the dam without chipping shingles or cutting the deck.
Emergency leak channels
A drain path through the dam tonight so the water stops coming into the house.
Roof raking
The bottom six feet cleared before a rain-on-snow forecast, without scraping the shingles.
Ice barrier at the eaves
Self-adhered membrane from the eave to 24 inches past the wall line, plus valleys, on every replacement.
Ventilation & air sealing
The permanent fix: balanced venting plus a sealed ceiling so heat stops melting the snow.
Gutter & heat-cable advice
When heat cable helps (short north eaves, valleys) and when it's a band-aid on a ventilation problem.
Ice dams & snow removal cost in Meridian, ID
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency ice-dam steaming, per eave section | $400 – $900 | Any hour |
| Roof raking, typical single-story | $250 – $450 | Per visit |
| Roof snow removal, two-story or heavy load | $450 – $900 | Per visit, steam or rake |
| Ice barrier retrofit at eaves (with re-shingling the first courses) | $800 – $2,200 | Per eave |
| Ventilation balance and air sealing | $1,400 – $3,200 | See ventilation |
| Heat cable, installed, per linear foot | $14 – $22 | Where it actually helps |
These are 2026 Treasure Valley ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — tear-off, decking, underlayment, ice barrier, flashing, vents, disposal, permit — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about ice dams & snow removal
Can I break the ice dam myself?
Please don't. Hammers and chisels crack shingles and cut the deck, salt corrodes gutters and kills the lawn below, and every winter someone falls off a ladder onto frozen ground. If water is coming in, put a bucket under it and call; we steam it the same day.
Does homeowner's insurance cover ice-dam damage?
The interior damage — ceilings, walls, floors — usually is, as sudden water damage. The cost of removing the dam and fixing the ventilation usually isn't. Most Idaho policies also exclude damage from an unattended, unheated house, so keep the heat on if you travel in January.
How much snow can my roof hold?
Meridian roofs are designed for 25 pounds per square foot. Fresh powder is about 5 lb/sq ft per foot of depth, but a rain-soaked pack is 15–20 lb/sq ft per foot — so a foot of wet snow is at the design limit. Sagging ceilings, doors that stick and cracking sounds mean call now. Pitched residential roofs rarely collapse; flat and low-slope roofs are the ones that failed in 2017.
Will heat cable stop ice dams?
It keeps a drain path open on a short north eave or a valley that gets no sun. It doesn't fix the cause, it costs money to run, and on a roof with bad ventilation it just moves the dam a foot up. We recommend it as the last step, not the first.
Why did my neighbor's roof get a dam and mine didn't?
Same snow, different attic. A well-vented, well-insulated attic keeps the deck cold and the snow stays snow. A house with recessed lights, a leaky attic hatch and stuffed soffits melts it from below.