Ice Dam Removal & Prevention in North Smithfield, RI

We stop North Smithfield ice dams from soaking old plaster and village trim

North Smithfield has two kinds of houses that tend to get ice dams. The first are the older homes in the villages: Slatersville's mill-era houses along the Branch River, and the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century homes in Union Village and Forestdale. Many were built with little or no insulation, and their plaster ceilings and wood trim show water damage quickly. The second are newer homes set on open lots, where the wind has room to move snow around.

In the villages, attic heat is usually behind it. Snow melts on a warm roof, runs down to the cold overhang and refreezes, and the water trapped above that ridge works into the plaster, the window casings and the walls. Out on the open land toward the Massachusetts line, wind does the damage. It packs snow into deep drifts on the sheltered side of the roof, and those drifts feed meltwater to the eave for days after the storm passes.

Our approach is careful and done by hand. We cut channels through the ice dam so the trapped water can drain, while protecting shingles and gutters that may already be old. Afterward we show you where the ice formed and talk through heat cables, cleaning and guards for that spot. Phone (401) 274-3030 or send a photo; replies go out the same business day, and estimates cost nothing.