Most Tigard homeowners find out about an ice dam from the inside — a damp patch on a bedroom ceiling, or water tracking down the inside of a window frame. As part of our complete Tigard winter roof services, crews handle ice dam removal across Washington County.
Elevation, Aspect and Ice: The Washington County Pattern
The pack at this elevation is deep enough to act as its own insulation, which means the surface melts under sun while the base stays locked. Water released at the top has to travel through and under all of it.
Aspect decides which eaves suffer. A sunny plane sheds water across a roof in Tigard to a shaded eave that has not been above freezing for weeks, and that is where the ice builds into a wall.
Ice-barrier practice in Washington County
Design snow loads in Washington County are among the highest anywhere, and the membrane and retention requirements that go with them are not formalities. On an older Tigard cabin or chalet neither may be present.
Ice Dam Removal in Tigard: How The Work Runs
Why the gutter has to be cleared in the same visit
A dam sitting above a gutter packed solid with ice is only half the problem. Clear the eave and leave the trough frozen, and the next day's meltwater has nowhere to run — it backs up onto the roof and the dam rebuilds from the bottom. Water Stain on the Ceiling in Winter.
Crews steam the trough and the downspout through to daylight on the same visit. It adds time, which is why the hour estimate given on the phone accounts for it, and it is the difference between a fix and a repeat visit in Tigard the following week.
What happens after the ice is off
Once the eave is clear and water is draining, the crew walks the interior with you where there is visible damage and says plainly whether it needs drying. Wet insulation and a damp ceiling cavity do not resolve themselves in a cold Tigard February.
If it does, that is a separate scope and it gets written separately — nobody is upsold a dryout on the strength of one damp patch.
What steam actually does
A steam unit delivers water at roughly 290°F at a pressure low enough to rest your hand in the plume. It cuts a channel straight through the ice and lifts the dam off in sections, right down to the shingle. The heat does the work, not force, so granules, seal strips and flashing come through untouched.
That is the whole difference between steam and the hot pressure washers often sold as steam. A pressure washer cuts ice fast because of its pressure — and that same pressure strips the granules off asphalt shingles and drives water up under the courses. One method removes ice. The other removes ice and roof.
What the dam has already done to the gutter and fascia
Ice expands as it forms, and a trough packed solid pushes the gutter away from the fascia a little more every cycle. By the time the dam is thick enough to leak, the hangers are often pulled, the back of the trough has lifted, and the fascia board behind it has been wet for weeks.
None of that is visible until the ice is off. It gets photographed when it appears, because a bent gutter found in February is a great deal easier to argue about with a carrier than one discovered in May.
If water already got inside
Taking the ice off stops new water. It does nothing about what is already in the insulation, the ceiling and the walls of a Tigard home.
The same company handles the rest: water mitigation and dryout, mold remediation where the water has led to growth, the interior repair, and the roof where the dam damaged it, all documented on one insurance claim.
What you get in Tigard
- Steam onlySafe on asphalt, cedar, slate, tile and metal — no chipping, no pressure, no salt
- Photographed as we workDated before and after images and a written scope your adjuster will accept
- No salt, no chippingNothing corrosive and nothing mechanical touches the covering
| Pricing model | Billed by the crew hour, rate quoted before dispatch |
|---|---|
| Documentation | Dated before and after photos, written scope in Xactimate line items |
| Removal method | Low-pressure steam only. No chipping, salt or pressure washing. |
| Dispatch window | 24 to 48 hours in mountain terrain |
| Coverage area | Tigard and Washington County |
| Primary climate stressor | Solar melt on deep pack, shaded eaves |
| Service | Ice Dam Removal in Tigard, OR |
Where We Dispatch Around Tigard
Crews working Tigard cover the adjoining communities on the same route — Tualatin, Marylhurst, Sherwood, West Linn and Wilsonville — so a storm week usually means one truck handling several addresses in Washington County rather than separate trips.
Nearest hub towns with their own ice dam removal pages: Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Portland, Hillsboro, Oregon City, Gresham.
When a storm hits Washington County, crews are dispatched by severity rather than by call order — water already inside the house goes first.
Most jobs do not stop at one service. Ice Dam Removal in Tigard often runs alongside water mitigation & dryout in Tigard, and both get written into one scope rather than billed as separate visits.
Active leak right now? Our 24/7 Tigard steam ice dam removal crews are dispatched first during a freeze event. Call (888) 561-9664.
