Roof Repair
Ice Dam Damage Repair in Connecticut. Fixed for Good.
Lifted eave shingles, torn ice barrier, backed-up leaks, and rotted decking from CT winters. Written quote, published pricing, 1-year leak-proof warranty. All 8 CT counties.
See your roof in seconds
Why it happens
An ice dam is a heat problem wearing a roof costume.
Snow on the upper roof melts because warm air from the house is leaking into the attic and warming the deck. The meltwater runs down until it crosses the eave, the part of the roof hanging over cold outside air, and refreezes there. Each cycle adds a layer. The ridge of ice grows until water pools behind it with nowhere to go but sideways, under the shingles, past the nail line, and into the house. IBHS research on ice dams traces nearly every case back to the same pair of causes: attic air leaks and thin insulation.
Connecticut sits in the worst climate band for this. Cold enough for weeks of sustained freezing, warm enough for regular mid-winter thaws. A January nor'easter followed by a 40-degree week is the exact recipe, and it is a normal CT winter.
What we repair
Six ways an ice dam damages a roof.
Lifted + creased eave shingles
Ice grips the shingle edge and levers it up. Once the sealant strip breaks, wind and water both get under the course. Repaired by re-setting or replacing the affected courses.
Torn underlayment + ice barrier
The membrane under the shingles tears where ice bonds to it. Invisible from the ground, found when we lift the damaged courses. Replaced with new self-adhering ice barrier membrane.
Backed-up water leaks
Pooled meltwater rides up under the shingles past the nail line. Shows up as ceiling stains along exterior walls. We trace the entry point, not just the stain.
Rotted eave decking
Repeated winters of trapped moisture soften the first plywood courses. Spongy eaves get cut back to sound wood and re-sheathed before new shingles go on.
Bent gutters + drip edge
A mature ice dam is heavy. Gutters pull away from the fascia and drip edge deforms, both of which misdirect water in every rain that follows.
Damaged flashing at eave details
Kick-out and step flashing near the eave gets displaced by ice movement. A displaced flashing leaks long after the ice is gone.
How the repair works
Stop the water now. Fix the roof when it can bond.
If water is coming in mid-winter, the first visit is about mitigation: tarping or temporarily sealing the affected eave, photographing everything, and giving you a written scope. Shingle adhesive strips and self-adhering ice barrier membranes need warmth to bond, a permanent repair done at 15 degrees fails quietly and leaks again next year. So the permanent repair gets booked for the next above-freezing window, done once, and covered by the 1-year leak-proof warranty.
The permanent repair itself: lift or remove the damaged eave courses, cut out any spongy decking back to sound wood, lay new self-adhering ice barrier, and re-shingle with drip edge re-set. CT's residential code requires the ice barrier to run from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and a surprising number of older CT roofs have none at all. If yours is one of them, the repair is the moment it gets brought up to code on that eave.
While we are up there we also look at the cause. If the attic shows daylight-sized air leaks or a few inches of tired insulation, Energy.gov's insulation guidance is the homework we point you to. We fix roofs, and an honest roofer tells you when the roof is the symptom.
Ice dam repair pricing
Published tiers. Written quote on arrival.
Trust Proof Roofing, published
$400–$600
Small repair: eave shingle courses re-set or replaced, drip edge corrected.
$800–$1,300
Big repair: multiple courses with new ice barrier membrane, or a section of eave decking replaced.
$300/hr + materials. $400 min ($500 if >50 mi from Hartford).
Written quote on arrival, before any work begins.
Eave repair in progress
Damaged courses out, decking checked, new membrane in
Sealed, code-compliant eave
Ice barrier under the courses is what stops the next dam
Backed in writing
1-year leak-proof warranty on ice dam repairs.
If the eave we repaired leaks again from our workmanship, we return free. In writing on every repair invoice.
Common questions
Ice dam damage, answered.
What is an ice dam and why does my roof get one?
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the cold eave of the roof. Heat escaping from the house melts the snow higher up the roof, the meltwater runs down, and it refreezes when it reaches the overhang, which sits over unheated air. The ridge grows with each melt-freeze cycle until water pools behind it, backs up under the shingles, and finds the nail holes. Research from IBHS shows the root cause is almost always heat loss into the attic, not the roofing itself.
What kind of damage do ice dams do to a Connecticut roof?
Four things, in rough order of frequency: shingles at the eave get lifted or creased by the ice and stop sealing, underlayment and ice barrier tear where the ice grips them, gutters and drip edge get bent or pulled loose by the weight, and meltwater that backed up under the shingles rots the first courses of decking. Inside the house it shows up as staining along exterior walls and ceilings near the eaves, usually during the first big thaw.
How much does ice dam damage repair cost in CT?
Trust Proof pricing is published: small repairs run $400–$600, and most eave repairs, a course of shingles re-set or replaced plus drip edge, land in this tier. Bigger jobs, replacing several courses with new ice barrier membrane or a section of rotted decking, run $800–$1,300. The rate is $300/hour plus materials with a $400 minimum ($500 if your home is more than 50 miles from Hartford). You get a written quote before any work starts.
My roof is leaking from an ice dam right now. What do you do in winter?
Call us. In freezing conditions the priority is stopping the water: we tarp or temporarily seal the affected eave and document the damage. Permanent shingle and decking repair needs above-freezing temperatures for adhesives and sealants to bond, so we book the permanent fix for the next warm window and the 1-year leak-proof warranty applies to that permanent repair.
Does homeowner insurance cover ice dam damage?
Many Connecticut homeowner policies cover sudden interior water damage from an ice dam, while wear-related roof deterioration is generally excluded. We are not a public adjuster and will not promise a claim outcome, but we document everything we find with photos and a written assessment on our letterhead with our CT HIC license number, which gives your adjuster the full picture.
How do I stop ice dams from coming back?
Fix the heat loss. Energy.gov guidance is direct on this: air-seal the attic floor first (recessed lights, hatch, plumbing chases), then bring insulation up to the recommended depth for New England, then confirm soffit-to-ridge ventilation is actually flowing. On the roof side, CT residential code requires an ice barrier membrane extending from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line on most homes, and older roofs often predate it. We check for it during any eave repair and tell you what we find.
Should I rake the snow off my roof?
A roof rake used from the ground on the first 3–4 feet above the eave after a heavy snowfall does reduce ice dam formation, and IBHS recommends it as a practical stopgap. Do not chip ice off the dam itself, and do not put salt tablets on the shingles, both damage the roof surface you are trying to protect. If a dam has already formed and water is coming in, that is a repair call, not a raking job.
Do you warranty ice dam damage repairs?
Yes. Every permanent repair carries our 1-year in-house leak-proof warranty in writing. If the eave we repaired leaks again from work we performed, we come back free. The warranty covers our workmanship, it does not cover a new ice dam forming because attic heat loss was never corrected, which is why we point out the insulation and ventilation issues we can see while we are up there.
Water coming in right now? Emergency roof repair →
Ceiling stain but not sure of the source? Roof leak repair in CT →
Want the prevention checklist? CT roof maintenance guide →
Get the eave fixed before the next thaw.
Photo-documented repair, published pricing, 1-year leak-proof warranty.