Ice Dam Removal & Prevention in Westerly, RI

We keep Westerly's winter slush from freezing at the eaves and leaking into your ceilings

Westerly winters rarely stay simple. Being right on the ocean, the town often gets snow that turns to rain and then freezes again overnight, sometimes several times in one week. Each round leaves meltwater sitting at the roof edge, where the overhang is colder than the roof above the living space. When that water freezes in a ridge along the gutter, the next melt has nowhere to go but up under the shingles. That is an ice dam, and on the shore it can build from a modest snowfall.

The housing mix makes it worse in places. Many cottages near Misquamicut and Weekapaug were built as summer places and later turned into year-round homes, with heat added but little insulation above the ceiling. Warm air leaks into the attic, melts snow from below and feeds the dam. Larger shingled homes in Watch Hill have dormers and valleys where ice collects. Inland, around Bradford and along the Pawcatuck River, tree cover keeps snow on north-facing roofs well after the beach roads are bare.

When an ice dam is already there, we remove it by hand. We carefully cut channels through the ice so the trapped water can drain off the roof and out through the gutters, working to protect the shingles and gutters instead of hacking at them. If it is a seasonal house and you are out of town, a photo from a neighbor or caretaker helps us see what is going on. Call (401) 274-3030 or send the form, and we will respond the same business day.