Homeowners across Chittenden County call about icicles. Icicles are cosmetic. The dam behind them, holding back standing water, is not. As part of our complete Colchester winter roof services, crews handle commercial ice dam removal across Chittenden County.
Why Colchester Roofs Dam Up: Deep Cold and a Long Snow Season
There is no mid-winter reset in Colchester. The snow that falls in November is still part of the pack in March, compressed by everything that landed on top of it, and the eave underneath has been below freezing the whole time.
The ice that comes off a roof in Colchester 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 Chittenden County
Ice barrier at the eaves is a standard requirement on new work across Vermont. The question on any particular Colchester house is when it was last roofed, because that decides whether it is there at all.
Commercial Ice Dam Removal in Colchester: How The Work Runs
Insulation above the deck changes the melt pattern
A modern commercial assembly puts most of its insulation above the deck, so very little building heat reaches the membrane. That is good for energy and it means the snow that lands mostly stays - the roof does not self-clear the way an under-insulated one does.
Where dams do form on those roofs it is almost always at a thermal bridge: a parapet, a curb, a drain bowl or a line of fasteners. Those are the spots crews work first.
Built for property managers
One contact, one scheduled window, one invoice coded the way your accounting needs it. Crews work around tenant hours where that matters, and the condition report goes to whoever has to show the board or the owner what was spent and why.
Membrane-safe means something specific
EPDM, TPO and modified bitumen all tolerate steam at low pressure and none of them tolerate chipping, scraping or a pressure washer. Crews steam the drains and scuppers open first to restore flow, then work the ponded ice, and they stay off seams and flashing details with the lance.
Mechanical units, conduit runs, solar racking and safety railing all get worked around rather than over.
Parapets hold the water in
A parapet is why a commercial deck ponds instead of shedding. Scuppers through the parapet are the only exit, and they are narrow, exposed on three sides and the first thing to freeze solid.
Steaming a scupper throat open is often the single highest-value twenty minutes of a commercial Colchester call.
Overflow scuppers are the tell
Water running out of an overflow scupper in winter means the primary drains are not taking it. On a Colchester building that is a sign the roof is holding standing water somewhere above a frozen drain, and the load is being carried rather than shed.
Scuppers are checked first for exactly that reason, and a dry scupper above a wet roof is as informative as a running one.
What you get in Colchester
- EPDM, TPO and mod-bitLow-pressure steam only, seams and flashing details avoided
- Documentation for the boardCondition report and photo record with every invoice
- Drains and scuppers firstFlow restored before the ponded ice is worked
| Local ice-barrier practice | Eave membrane required on new work |
|---|---|
| Documentation | Dated before and after photos, written scope in Xactimate line items |
| Dispatch window | Same day to 24 hours |
| Removal method | Low-pressure steam only. No chipping, salt or pressure washing. |
| Service | Commercial Ice Dam Removal in Colchester, VT |
| Pricing model | Billed by the crew hour, rate quoted before dispatch |
| Primary climate stressor | Sustained sub-freezing, long season |
Where We Dispatch Around Colchester
Crews working Colchester cover the adjoining communities on the same route — Essex Junction, South Hero, Westford, Shelburne and Jericho — so a storm week usually means one truck handling several addresses in Chittenden County rather than separate trips.
Nearest hub towns with their own commercial ice dams pages: Winooski, Burlington, Essex, South Burlington, Milton, Williston.
Colchester sits inside the regular Vermont service area, so a crew is usually scheduled the same day or the following morning.
Most jobs do not stop at one service. Commercial Ice Dams in Colchester often runs alongside commercial roof snow removal in Colchester, and both get written into one scope rather than billed as separate visits.
Active leak right now? Our 24/7 Colchester steam ice dam removal crews are dispatched first during a freeze event. Call (888) 561-9664.
