Homeowners across Washtenaw County call about icicles. Icicles are cosmetic. The dam behind them, holding back standing water, is not. As part of our complete Ann Arbor winter roof services, crews handle crane-assisted snow removal across Washtenaw County.
The Washtenaw County Trap: Modest Snow, Constant Cycling
Ann Arbor does not need a blizzard to get an ice dam. A few inches that melts by afternoon and refreezes overnight builds one just as effectively, and it does it over and over through the season.
Because the winters read as mild, the building stock is not built for ice. Attic insulation is thinner, eave details are less considered, and ice barrier is more often absent than present on a roof in Ann Arbor.
Ice-barrier practice in Washtenaw County
The residential code Michigan follows calls for eave ice barrier on new work. Enforcement in Washtenaw County is real but recent, so the age of the roof is what decides whether it is there.
Crane-Assisted Snow Removal in Ann Arbor: How The Work Runs
Reach, radius and why the chart decides
Capacity falls away sharply with radius. A machine that lifts comfortably at thirty feet may be well short of the same load at eighty, which is why the far corner of a large deck sometimes needs a bigger crane rather than a longer day. Ceiling Sagging or Bulging After Snow.
The chart is run before the quote, so the number given is for a machine that can actually reach the whole roof in Ann Arbor rather than most of it.
Why it is often the cheaper number
Per hour a crane costs more than a crew with shovels. Per roof it frequently costs less, because a pick that takes an afternoon can replace several crew-days of hand clearing.
On a large Ann Arbor deck the crane is routinely both the faster and the cheaper answer, and the comparison gets shown rather than asserted.
What happens if the crane cannot get close enough
Overhead power, a narrow alley, soft ground that will not take outrigger loads, or a neighboring building in the swing path can all rule out a setup after a site visit.
That gets found on the walk rather than on the day. Where a crane genuinely will not work, the honest answer is a larger hand crew over more days with the cost difference laid out - not a pick that was never going to fit.
Outriggers on frozen and uneven ground
Frozen ground is not automatically good bearing. Frost heave, buried utilities, septic fields, soft fill under a lawn and anything that thaws mid-job all change what the pads are sitting on.
Pads are sized for the load and placed deliberately. It is the least visible part of a pick in Ann Arbor and the part with the least margin for improvisation.
Keeping people clear of the swing
A loaded tarp overhead is a serious exclusion zone. Pedestrian and vehicle routes get marshalled for the whole operation, and on an occupied building that means talking to whoever controls the doors before the first lift.
On a site in Ann Arbor with public frontage this is usually the part that needs the most coordination and the part that gets the least credit.
What you get in Ann Arbor
- Outrigger padsBearing pads sized and placed for frozen and uneven ground
- Permits handledPulled where the municipality requires them for a street setup
- Rip-stop tarp picksRated tarps and rigging, with lifts planned around the swing radius
| Documentation | Dated before and after photos, written scope in Xactimate line items |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Billed by the crew hour, rate quoted before dispatch |
| Service | Crane-Assisted Snow Removal in Ann Arbor, MI |
| Local ice-barrier practice | Eave membrane on new work, often absent |
| Dispatch window | Same day to 24 hours |
| Primary climate stressor | Repeated thaw-freeze cycling |
| Coverage area | Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County |
Ann Arbor Coverage and the Adjoining Communities
Crews working Ann Arbor cover the adjoining communities on the same route — Saline, Dexter, Bridgewater, Whitmore Lake and Hamburg — so a storm week usually means one truck handling several addresses in Washtenaw County rather than separate trips.
Nearest hub towns with their own crane snow removal pages: Ypsilanti, Novi, Westland, Livonia, Farmington Hills, Taylor.
Crews cover Ann Arbor and the surrounding Washtenaw County towns through the whole season, and during a freeze event they run from first light until dark.
Most jobs do not stop at one service. Crane Snow Removal in Ann Arbor often runs alongside commercial roof snow removal in Ann Arbor, and both get written into one scope rather than billed as separate visits.
Active leak right now? Our 24/7 Ann Arbor steam ice dam removal crews are dispatched first during a freeze event. Call (888) 561-9664.
