Interior cleanup and drying after an ice dam backs meltwater under the shingles and into a Dearborn ceiling or wall.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
An ice dam forms when heat escaping from the attic melts snow on the roof, and the water refreezes at the cold eave, backs up and seeps under shingles into the ceiling below. The crew dries the wet insulation, drywall and framing and can tarp the roof; fixing the cause is a roofer's and insulator's job.
Most roof leaks start with a hole. An ice dam leak usually does not. The shingles can be sound, the flashing intact, and water still comes through the ceiling in January because of what is happening in the attic. Warmth from the living space leaks into the attic, warms the roof deck, and melts the snow lying on it. That meltwater runs down the roof until it reaches the eave, which overhangs the exterior wall and stays cold. There it refreezes, building a ridge of ice that traps the next round of meltwater behind it. The pooled water has nowhere to go but sideways and up, under the shingles, through the underlayment and into the house.
That is the mechanism, and it explains why a quick removal is rarely the real answer. A homeowner can chop at the ice, and a roofer can steam it off, but if the attic is still leaking heat the dam returns with the next snowfall. This page covers what the water does once it is inside: wet attic insulation, a stained or bagging ceiling, damp wall cavities and paint that blisters on an exterior wall. If you need the crew to cover the opening while the weather holds, (833) 490-5225 is answered 24/7, though no arrival time can be promised for any call.
Ice dams form when the roof deck is warm in one place and cold in another. Heat from the living space or a leaky attic melts snow above it, and the water refreezes at the cold eave. Poor insulation, air leaks into the attic and weak ventilation make the difference between one house and the next.
Detroit Metro Airport records about 44 inches of snow in a normal year, concentrated from December through March, and roughly 130 nights a year at or below freezing. That gives a house plenty of chances for the cycle to repeat: snow falls, the attic leaks warmth, the snow melts from beneath, and the eave refreezes it. The snow itself is an insulator, so a thick pack above a warm deck melts faster than a thin one.
Which houses are prone is a pattern, not a certainty. Pre-war bungalows and one-and-a-half storey houses often have knee walls, sloped ceilings and cramped eave space, where insulation is thin or hard to place. Mid-century ranches may have been re-insulated unevenly over the years. Recessed lights, bath fans, chimneys and attic hatches are common places where heated air gets into the attic. A technician cannot judge your insulation from the ceiling, so the useful step is an attic inspection by someone who does that work.
Removing the ice treats the symptom. The lasting fix is to stop heat reaching the roof deck by sealing air leaks, adding insulation and improving attic ventilation from soffit to ridge. Chipping or hacking at ice damages shingles and can cost more than the leak, so any removal is best left to a roofer.
Chopping at an ice dam with a hammer, shovel or ice pick is how shingles get torn and granules knocked off, and a fall from a ladder on an icy roof is a real danger. Rock salt can stain and corrode flashing and gutters. Steam removal is a roofer's tool and, done well, melts channels rather than breaking the ice. Raking snow from the first few feet of the roof from the ground, with a roof rake, can reduce the supply of meltwater without climbing, if the rake is used gently.
None of that stops the next one. Airtight ceilings, enough insulation over the living space and a continuous path for cold air from the soffits to the ridge keep the whole roof deck near outdoor temperature, so the snow melts evenly or not at all. That is a roofer's, insulator's or ventilation contractor's work, not restoration. This crew's role is the water that got in: it can help stop the leak, tarp the opening and dry the house. It does not replace roofs.
Meltwater soaks attic insulation, runs down the inside of exterior walls and stains or collapses ceiling drywall. It is usually clean water at first, but wet insulation holds it against framing for weeks, so a small ceiling stain can hide a wall cavity that needs opening and drying.
Insulation does not dry quickly once it is soaked, especially in an attic where winter air is cold and nearly still. Fiberglass can slump and hold water against the ceiling drywall; blown cellulose can pack down into a heavy, wet mass. Either way, the material is replaced, not saved. Ceiling paint hides the stain for a while, but the water stays in the drywall and the wall cavity below until it is opened and dried.
A second worry is what comes later. Wet framing and drywall left unopened in a cold, closed space can develop mold, and EPA guidance is to dry water-damaged materials within 24 to 48 hours to limit that. If mold is already present, the mold inspection page explains how moisture mapping finds the full extent. Repairs after drying, including new drywall and paint, are quoted separately and repair and rebuild work costing $600 or more falls under the state contractor licences.
Many homeowners policies treat sudden water entering through a roof in winter as a covered loss, but the decision belongs to your insurer and depends on your policy's wording on wear, maintenance and ventilation. Photograph the ice, the ceiling and the attic before anything is moved, and call your insurer early.
Ice dam claims often hinge on whether the water came from ordinary roof wear, which many policies exclude, or from a sudden winter event. The crew cannot tell you which way a claim will go, and nothing on this page promises a result. What it can do is document the damage: moisture readings, thermal images and photos of wet insulation and stained ceilings, with dates, in a form you can send to your insurer.
Take your own pictures first, from the ground if you cannot reach the roof safely, and keep any receipts for emergency tarps. If the leak followed a storm rather than a thaw, the storm damage restoration page describes that different kind of loss.
Do not climb onto an icy roof, chip at the ice, or poke a bulging ceiling to let the water out. Water and loosened drywall can fall, and wet light fixtures are an electrical risk. Keep out from under the stain and call.
Move people and furniture out from under a stained or bagging ceiling. Never poke a hole in a bulging ceiling yourself, because the water and the drywall can come down together, and light fixtures may be wet.
Where meltwater is still entering, the crew can place an emergency tarp or board-up over the opening to buy time. This is a stopgap, not a roof repair.
A technician checks the ceiling, wall cavities and attic edge with a moisture meter and a thermal camera. Wet insulation near the eaves is a main clue to where water came in.
Saturated insulation and sagging drywall are removed. Drywall that has held water can be heavy and brittle, and removing it also lets the cavity dry.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run in the room, and the crew keeps readings until the framing matches dry areas. Winter drying has to manage cold, damp air in the attic as well.
You receive photos and readings to share with your insurer, along with a note that a roofer or insulator should look at the cause before the next snow.
The most common form. Meltwater enters at the eave, soaks the insulation, and reaches the top plate of the wall, where it runs down the cavity. The stain at the ceiling may be small while the wall behind it is wet to the floor.
Water collects on the back of the drywall and the paper face holds it until the ceiling bulges. This one is urgent because the weight can bring down the ceiling, so the room below is best left empty until the water is released safely.
A second-story or dormer wall may take water where a roof meets a wall. The damage appears as stained paint, loose trim or a damp window frame, and it can sit in the wall for weeks if nobody opens it.
No sourced price exists for the emergency tarp, so none is shown here. What is sourced is the cleanup range for a typical Michigan water loss, and a ceiling leak with no sewage involved usually sits among the smaller jobs.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Single room, Category 1 | $1,200 to $3,200 | cleanup and dry-out; debris removal, repair and replacement are usually extra |
| Metro Detroit minor flood or non-catastrophic leak, full service | $1,000 to $4,000 | most published calls land near $2,000 |
| Typical Michigan water damage job (HomeAdvisor, Ann Arbor page) | $1,300 to $4,092 | average $2,696; an Ann Arbor figure, so read it as Michigan, not Dearborn |
| Water-damaged drywall repair | a few dollars per sq ft | more where mold work and repainting are added; a rebuild, quoted separately |
Typical published ranges for metro Detroit and Michigan, shown as estimates for Wayne County in 2026, never as prices from Dearborn Water Damage Restoration or any one crew. Your exact price is explained and confirmed on site before any work starts.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Ice dams are a Great Lakes winter failure, not a Sun Belt one, which is why this service exists here. The calls come from January through March, when a cold stretch builds snow and a warmer day melts it. February's freeze-thaw swings are the hardest on a roofline, and the water often arrives the day after the thaw, when the dam finally gives way.
Much of east Dearborn, Springwells Park, Hamtramck and Ferndale is older brick or frame housing, and homes of that era typically have shallow attic space over the eaves and original insulation that has settled or been added to piecemeal. That is a general pattern, not a measurement of any one house, and an attic inspection is what settles it for yours.
The cause and the cure sit above the ceiling, and the water damage sits below it. A roofer handles the first, the crew handles the second, and the two together keep a single February leak from becoming a spring repair. After a ceiling is opened, the ceiling water damage page covers what a technician checks as it dries.
A wet ceiling in an older Dearborn house is usually water from the floor above or from an ice dam, and plaster can fail without warning.
In Dearborn a summer storm means rain volume the sewer cannot carry, plus wind and tree damage on top, often in the same hour.
What drying a full Dearborn basement after a Category 3 sewer backup in the cold months involves, and what the readings must show.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
An ice dam forms when heat escaping into the attic melts snow on the warm part of the roof, and the meltwater refreezes at the cold eave.
It is not a good idea. Rock salt can stain and corrode metal flashing and gutters, and it can harm plants below. It also melts slowly in a narrow channel and does nothing about the heat leaking from your attic that built the dam in the first place.
While it is freezing, the dam holds meltwater in place and the water cannot move. When the temperature rises, the ice softens and the trapped water runs through the gap it has made. The damage often looks sudden, though the water has been building behind the dam for days.
A dry stain is less urgent than a bulging or dripping ceiling, but both need checking, because insulation and the wall cavity can stay wet while the paint looks fine. A moisture reading is the only way to tell, and EPA guidance is to dry within 24 to 48 hours to limit mold.
No. The crew does not replace roofs or fix shingles. It can help stop the water, tarp or board up an opening for the interim, then remove wet materials and dry the house. A roofer deals with the roof and an insulation contractor with the attic.
An ice dam leak shows up along the eaves and exterior walls during or just after a thaw, with ice lining the roof edge. A damaged shingle or flashing leak tends to appear below the spot where it failed, and in any weather. A roofer can usually tell from the pattern.
They can contribute. Water that soaks insulation and sheathing in a cold attic dries slowly, and damp wood in a closed space is where mold gets started. Opening the wet areas and drying them promptly is the way to avoid that, and no promise can be made for any job.