Roof Snow Removal.

When the snow load on your roof exceeds the design capacity of the structure. Most Canadian residential roofs are engineered for 80–150 lb per square foot of snow load (varies by region — higher in Saguenay, Saint John, St. John's, Sherbrooke; lower in Toronto, Vancouver). At peak winter accumulation in heavy-snowfall years, the snow plus ice plus drifting accumulation can exceed the design capacity, especially on flat or low-slope sections, on the leeward side of roof valleys, and around dormers and HVAC penetrations. Warning signs include: visible sagging of the roof line, doors and windows that suddenly stick or do not close, cracking sounds from the attic, ice damming at the eaves, and water staining inside the building. If you see any of these, schedule roof snow removal immediately — the structural risk increases non-linearly with additional accumulation.

Hand-clearing only — no power equipment on the roof surface. Power snow blowers, power shovels, and skid-steer attachments will damage the roof membrane, the underlayment, the flashing, and the gutters within minutes of use. snow.ca crews use poly-edge snow rakes for single-storey ground-level reach (the safest method — the operator stays on the ground), and fall-arrest-equipped manual clearing for two-storey and commercial roofs. Fall arrest is mandatory for any roof work over 1.8 metres in height under Occupational Health and Safety regulations in every Canadian province. Every roof crew member is fall-arrest-certified and the equipment is inspected at the start of every shift. We do not subcontract roof work to uncertified labour, regardless of how busy the season gets.

An ice dam is an ice formation at the eave of a sloped roof, created when warm air from inside the building melts roof snow, the meltwater runs down the roof slope to the colder eave, and re-freezes there. As the dam builds, additional meltwater backs up behind it and is forced under the shingles into the attic, causing water damage. The standard removal method is low-pressure hot-water steam from a dedicated roof steamer (snow.ca uses Steam Power Cleaner units). Steam melts the dam without damaging shingles or gutters. Ice chipping with hand tools is faster but routinely damages shingles and shortens roof life by 5–15 years per chipping event. We use steam exclusively. Removal takes 30–90 minutes per dam depending on size and access.

Residential single-storey roofs run $450–$700 per visit for a typical 2,000–3,000 sq ft footprint accessible from ground level with a poly-edge snow rake. Two-storey or steep-slope residential roofs requiring fall-arrest setup run $700–$1,200 per visit. Commercial low-slope roofs run $0.45–$1.20 per square foot depending on access, slope, parapet height, and any solar / HVAC obstructions. Ice dam removal runs $350–$900 per dam depending on size and access — a single eave dam on a single-storey home is at the low end, a multi-dam two-storey home with steep-slope access is at the high end. Lead time during high-accumulation periods is 3–10 days because fall-arrest-certified crew capacity is the binding constraint.

Done correctly, no — hand-clearing with poly-edge tools does not damage shingles, membrane, or gutters. Done with power equipment or hand-chipped ice removal, yes — damage to shingles, membrane, flashing, and gutters is routine and expensive. snow.ca crews never use power equipment on a roof surface and never use chipping tools for ice removal. The poly-edge snow rake leaves a 1–2 inch snow layer on shingled roofs intentionally — clearing all the way down to bare shingles risks lifting shingle edges and breaking the asphalt seal in cold temperatures. The remaining thin layer melts on the first sunny day and does not pose a structural load problem. Photo documentation before and after every visit lets you verify the work was done without surface damage.