Every Franklin winter produces the same two calls: the ones who see the ice early, and the ones who see the ceiling stain first. As part of our complete Franklin winter roof services, crews handle crane-assisted snow removal across Merrimack County.
Franklin Ice Dams: What a Five-Month Snow Pack Does
A roof in Merrimack County spends most of the year's coldest months under continuous load. That is a different problem from a single heavy storm, and it produces a different kind of ice.

The ice that comes off a roof in Franklin in February is rarely one event's worth. It is a laminated record of the whole season, which is why it is thick, dense and firmly bonded to the shingle.
Ice-barrier practice in Merrimack County
In the colder New Hampshire jurisdictions the membrane requirement extends well up the roof plane rather than stopping at the first course, precisely because the ice here does not stay near the edge.
Crane-Assisted Snow Removal in Franklin: How The Work Runs
The arithmetic that justifies a crane
Snow weight is depth times density times area. Fresh powder is light; settled wet pack can be several times heavier for the same depth, and drifted pack heavier again. Ceiling Sagging or Bulging After Snow.
Crews take depth and density readings at the drift points on a roof in Franklin, work out the load, and compare it to the structure's design capacity. A crane gets mobilised when that number says hand clearing cannot win the race against the next storm.
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 Franklin and the part with the least margin for improvisation.
Documenting the load for the carrier
Depths, densities, calculated loads and dated photographs are recorded through the operation. Most carriers treat preventing an imminent structural failure as loss mitigation, which is a very different claim from one filed after a deck comes down.
That record is what supports it, and it only exists if somebody took the readings at the time.
Wind limits and when a pick gets postponed
Every crane has a wind chart, and a tarp full of snow is about the worst possible load to put on a hook in a gust - large surface area, light enough to sail, heavy enough to hurt. The limit is lower than people expect and it is not negotiable.
A Franklin pick that is cancelled for wind gets rescheduled rather than argued about. The alternative is a swinging load over an occupied building.
Planning the lift before anything moves
Site access, the swing radius, overhead lines, ground bearing for the outriggers and the ground drop zone all get walked first. On a site in Franklin that walk often determines where the crane can physically sit, which determines everything else.
Permits get pulled where the municipality requires them for a street setup, and that lead time is built into the schedule rather than discovered on the day.

What you get in Franklin
- Load calculated firstDepth, density and area against design capacity before anything mobilises
- Outrigger padsBearing pads sized and placed for frozen and uneven ground
- Marshalled exclusion zonePedestrian and vehicle control for the whole operation
| Removal method | Low-pressure steam only. No chipping, salt or pressure washing. |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Billed by the crew hour, rate quoted before dispatch |
| Typical scope | Steam, 6-14 crew hours typical |
| Dispatch window | Same day to 24 hours |
| Documentation | Dated before and after photos, written scope in Xactimate line items |
| Coverage area | Franklin and Merrimack County |
| Primary climate stressor | Sustained sub-freezing, long season |
Neighborhoods and Towns We Reach From Franklin
Crews working Franklin cover the adjoining communities on the same route — Salisbury, Tilton, East Andover, Lochmere and Andover — so a storm week usually means one truck handling several addresses in Merrimack County rather than separate trips.
Nearest hub towns with their own crane snow removal pages: Laconia, Concord, Goffstown, Manchester, Lebanon, Claremont.
Scheduling for Franklin tightens up during a freeze event, which is exactly when the phone beats the form. Water coming in means a call, not an email.
Most jobs do not stop at one service. Crane Snow Removal in Franklin often runs alongside commercial roof snow removal in Franklin, and both get written into one scope rather than billed as separate visits.
Active leak right now? Our 24/7 Franklin steam ice dam removal crews are dispatched first during a freeze event. Call (888) 561-9664.




