We handle ice dam removal in Minneapolis, MN with low-pressure steam, from the older blocks around Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Falls to the streets near the University of Minnesota. When a ceiling is dripping, we open a drainage channel first, then clear the eave down to the shingles.
We remove ice dams across Minneapolis, MN by steaming the ridge of eave ice and the ice packed behind it until meltwater can drain past the gutter line. The cost mostly follows hours on the roof, so height, pitch and how many thaws have stacked the ice matter most. Our Minnesota ice dam removal page explains the method in full.
Attics above heated top floors
Census data counts 89,537 of the city's 209,080 homes as built in 1939 or earlier. University of Minnesota Extension points to house air slipping up into the attic as the leading heat source behind ice dams, and old attics often have more gaps.
South-facing roof planes first
NOAA's normals for the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport show 14.3 days above freezing in December and 9.5 in January. Each of those days sends meltwater to a cold eave, so Minneapolis dams can start leaking well before the March thaw.
Low-slope eaves and porch roofs
The city's airport station averages 51.2 inches of snow a year, and the State Climatology Office recorded 90.3 inches in the 2022-23 season, the third most on record. Deep snow insulates the upper roof and feeds more water to the dam.
Every visit ends with an open path for meltwater from the upper roof to the gutter.
If water is already inside, we steam a narrow drain path through the ice directly above the leak so the pooled water runs off first. Then we come back along the eave and take off the rest of the ice.
We work the dam off in sections with low-pressure steam, down to the shingles and drip edge, and we free the gutter outlets so the water has somewhere to go.
Dormer valleys and low porch roofs on older houses hold thick ice, and the wall above them sheds more water onto it. We steam these by hand and slowly, because the flashing sits right under the ice.
Landlords call us when a tenant reports a stain. We clear the eaves over every unit, then tell the owner which side of the building held the most ice.
Three local facts change how we plan a Minneapolis ice dam job and what we tell the owner afterward.
Minnesota's residential code, based on the 2018 International Residential Code, calls for an ice barrier membrane that starts at the eave and runs 24 inches or more past the line of the exterior wall. A roof last replaced decades ago may lack it, so we ask when yours was redone.
The airport station averages 147.3 nights a year at or below freezing. University of Minnesota Extension warns that a melted drain path loses its use within days, which is why we take off the whole dam once the leak is draining. Our guide covers when ice dam season peaks.
If a dam has already lifted or cracked shingles and you replace the roof, that permit runs through the City of Minneapolis Licenses, Permits & Inspections. We point out damaged shingles we see while steaming so you can tell your roofer.
National cost surveys report that most contractors bill by the hour with a two-hour minimum, and we list typical Minnesota rates on our main page.
| Factor | What raises it | What lowers it |
|---|---|---|
| House height | Two and a half stories and a tall ladder set-up | A single-story eave we can reach from one ladder |
| Roof shape | Dormers, valleys and porch roofs | One long, straight eave |
| Ice thickness | Several thaws stacked onto one dam | A dam caught after its first thaw |
| Access | Narrow side yards and unshoveled paths | A shoveled path to each leaking eave |
| Water inside | A leak channel first, then the full dam | A dry dam with no interior stain |
Tell us your city, the kind of roof and whether water is already showing inside.
Call (612) 471-2509We cover every part of Minneapolis and the suburbs around it, plus other Minnesota cities we cover.
Minneapolis, by ZIP code
The housing there is newer than in Minneapolis, with a median build year of 1965, so attic leaks around fixtures are a common culprit. See our St. Louis Park ice dam help.
Half of Edina's homes were built by 1971, and its Building Inspections office permits roofing work. Read about Edina roofs and ice dams.
Roseville sits in Ramsey County and uses the same airport thaw normals as Minneapolis. See our nearby Roseville service.
Questions Minneapolis homeowners ask us when the eaves start to ice up.
Yes. We work across all 22 ZIP code areas inside the city limits, from the riverfront to the lakes and north Minneapolis. Tell us your street and which side of the house is leaking.
Usually the weather or the attic changed. University of Minnesota Extension says a dam needs roof snow, an upper roof above 32°F and an eave below it. A snowier winter or a new attic air leak creates that.
National cost surveys put an average-sized roof at two to three hours of steaming. Tall older homes with dormers often take longer. See ice dam removal costs in Minnesota for how hours turn into a bill.
Usually the water damage, not the removal. MPR News reported that Minnesota insurers count getting the ice off the roof as the homeowner's upkeep, and your deductible still applies to the interior repair.
Calls are answered 24/7. Tell us which eave is iced and which room is wet, and we will plan the steam work around your Minneapolis roof.
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Call (612) 471-2509