By the time a roof in Scranton has a visible ridge of ice at the eave, meltwater has already been pooling behind it for several freeze-thaw cycles. As part of our complete Scranton winter roof services, crews handle ice dam removal across Lackawanna County.
Scranton Ice Dams: Wet Snow and a Thermometer That Will Not Settle
A nor'easter can load a roof in Scranton with heavy, wet snow overnight. Coastal air then swings the temperature either side of freezing for days, which is the exact condition that builds ice fastest.
The building stock compounds it. A great many Scranton houses were built long before attic air sealing was a consideration, and the retrofits that followed often insulated the floor while leaving the bypasses wide open.
Ice-barrier practice in Lackawanna County
Ice-barrier membrane at the eaves is standard on re-roofs across coastal Pennsylvania, and many towns enforce it strictly. Homes that have not been re-roofed since that became normal practice are the ones that leak first.
Ice Dam Removal in Scranton: How The Work Runs
Access, ladders and what the crew needs on site
Steam equipment needs somewhere to park within hose reach, and ladders need footing that is not a buried flower bed or a sheet of ice. Clearing a path to the affected eave, moving vehicles off the driveway and unlocking a side gate takes ten minutes and saves considerably more than that on the clock. Water Stain on the Ceiling in Winter.
Where the only access is through a neighbor's property, that conversation is worth having before the crew is in the street rather than while it waits.
Why salt and ice melt make it worse
Calcium chloride opens a narrow channel and leaves the dam standing. The channel refreezes, the dam does not go anywhere, and in the meantime the runoff corrodes gutter seams, fasteners, flashing and anything growing underneath.
It is a stopgap at best. On a roof in Scranton with an active leak it buys hours, not days, and it adds a corrosion problem to the water problem.
What the crew does on arrival
Before anything is touched, the crew walks the eaves, valleys and gutter line and photographs every dam and every point where water is tracking inside. You get shown what they found. Then the dam comes off in sections, starting wherever water is actively backing up, so drainage opens early rather than at the end.
Downspouts and gutter troughs get cleared in the same visit where they are frozen, because a dam removed above a solid block of ice in the gutter just reforms in the next cold night.
How long a removal actually takes
A single-story eave with a thin dam and clear gutters is often an hour or two. A two-story Scranton house with ice standing a foot deep across the front, frozen downspouts and a valley packed solid is most of a day for a two-man crew. The honest answer on the phone is a range and the reason for it, not a number designed to win the booking.
The estimate is revised out loud if the roof turns out worse than it looked from the ground, before the extra hours are worked rather than after they appear on the invoice.
Why the dam formed in the first place
Ice dams are a heat problem wearing a weather costume. Warm air escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof; that meltwater runs to the eave, which hangs past the heated envelope and stays below freezing; it refreezes there, and the ridge of ice grows a layer every cycle. Removal is the emergency fix. Before the crew leaves you will know which part of your attic is feeding it.
What you get in Scranton
- Gutters cleared tooTrough and downspout steamed through to daylight in the same visit
- 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
| Pricing model | Billed by the crew hour, rate quoted before dispatch |
|---|---|
| Removal method | Low-pressure steam only. No chipping, salt or pressure washing. |
| Dispatch window | Same day to 24 hours |
| Typical scope | Steam, 4-10 crew hours typical |
| Coverage area | Scranton and Lackawanna County |
| Service | Ice Dam Removal in Scranton, PA |
| Documentation | Dated before and after photos, written scope in Xactimate line items |
Scranton Coverage and the Adjoining Communities
Crews working Scranton cover the adjoining communities on the same route — Moosic, Taylor, Old Forge, Duryea and Pittston — so a storm week usually means one truck handling several addresses in Lackawanna County rather than separate trips.
Nearest hub towns with their own ice dam removal pages: Wilkes-Barre, Pocono Pines, Hazleton, Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown.
Scranton sits inside the regular Pennsylvania service area, so a crew is usually scheduled the same day or the following morning.
Most jobs do not stop at one service. Ice Dam Removal in Scranton often runs alongside water mitigation & dryout in Scranton, and both get written into one scope rather than billed as separate visits.
Active leak right now? Our 24/7 Scranton steam ice dam removal crews are dispatched first during a freeze event. Call (888) 561-9664.
