After a big snowfall, the snow sitting on your eaves and lower roofs is the raw material for next week's ice dam. We rake it off without scraping your shingles, and we tell you if we spot trouble while we are up there.
Snow raking means pulling snow off a roof with a long-handled rake, starting at the eaves and working up. The goal is not a bare roof. It is clearing the lower few feet above the eaves, where meltwater refreezes into ice dams, and taking weight off roofs that are carrying more snow than they should.
A few inches of fresh powder weighs very little. Wet, packed snow and layers of ice weigh many times more, and a Minnesota winter tends to stack them: a snowfall, a thaw, a hard freeze, then more snow on top. Low-slope roofs, porch and garage roofs, additions, and spots where drifts pile up against a taller wall carry the most.
Done badly, raking causes the damage it is meant to prevent. Metal blades and hard scraping strip granules and tear shingle edges, chopping at ice cracks shingles and bends gutters, and snow dumped onto a lower roof or a deck just moves the load somewhere else. Good raking leaves a thin layer of snow on the shingles so the rake never touches them, and pays attention to where the snow lands. That is the standard we hold to.
A real person in Waite Park answers (320) 828-7244, and online requests get a call back within 30 minutes during business hours.
We check the roof, the snow depth and where the snow will land, and you get the price before any work starts.
Eaves and lower roof sections first, leaving a thin layer to protect the shingles, with snow kept off decks, lower roofs and walkways.
If an ice dam is already forming, or we spot damaged shingles or a leak, we photograph it and tell you before we leave.
Snow raking is one piece of winter prep. Our Ice Dam Ready guide covers the attic, gutter and roof checks that keep ice from building in the first place.
Snow raking is quoted after we look at the roof. The price depends on the size and height of the roof, its pitch, how deep and heavy the snow is, and how safely the crew can reach it. You hear the number before we start, not after.
If the visit turns up an ice dam or roof damage, removal and repairs are quoted separately in writing, so you can decide what to do next without pressure.
There is no set schedule. Rake after heavy snowfalls, especially before a thaw, and whenever icicles and ice start building at the eaves.
Usually not. Clearing the lower few feet above the eaves does most of the work against ice dams. Low-slope roofs and drifted areas may need more cleared to reduce the load.
It can if it is done with metal blades or scraped down to the surface. Leaving a thin layer of snow on the roof protects the shingles.
Many homeowners do, from the ground with a long-handled roof rake. Stay off icy roofs and ladders, keep well clear of power lines, and call us for two-story eaves or steep roofs.
It removes the snow that feeds them at the eaves, which helps a lot in a heavy winter. Lasting prevention also means fixing attic heat loss and ventilation.
We rake roofs across the St. Cloud area, the Brainerd Lakes cabin country and the communities along I-94 into the metro. Pick your city for local roofing details.
Have a cabin or rental within 125 miles of St. Cloud that sits empty in winter? Ask us about it. All service areas →
If the ice is already built up, we clear it without wrecking the shingles and repair the damage.
Learn More →A cold, well-vented attic means less melting on the roof in the first place.
Learn More →Shingles, flashing and decking damaged by ice and snow, fixed with a written quote.
Learn More →Tell us where the house is and how to reach you. We call back, look at the roof, and give you a price before we rake.
Prefer to talk now? Call (320) 828-7244