Classic Toronto winter call: warm spell after weeks of snow, attic heat melts the snowpack, water runs down to the cold gutter, freezes into a dam, melt backs up under the shingles. By the time the customer noticed it inside, the ice was already 8 cm thick on the front gutter run.
What we did
Four hours, two people, two ladders, steam:
- Confirmed it was an ice-dam (not a roof tear) by checking the line where the leak entered the ceiling
- Used a low-temperature steamer (no axes, no salt) to melt a channel through the dam, relieves pressure within 20 minutes
- Cleared the now-loose ice from the gutter end-to-end
- Hand-flushed the downspouts to confirm flow before leaving
- Took photos of the shingle line, confirmed no curl or lift, no roofer required
Why January gutter calls happen
When a gutter wasn't cleaned in fall, the ice dam forms over packed leaves instead of empty trough, much harder to clear later. We document this with photos so you (or your insurance) can see it. Best fix is preventive: book the fall sweep before late October.
