Ice dams are a NH winter reality. A house with a warm attic and a cold eave ends up with ice forming where snowmelt refreezes. The water that backs up behind the dam often finds its way into walls, ceilings, and finished spaces. By spring, the damage assessment turns into a cleanup project.
We're the haul side of that project. Here's what that means.
What ice dam damage actually does
When ice dams form, snowmelt from higher on the roof runs down toward the eave, hits the ice dam, and has nowhere to go. It backs up under the shingles, finds its way through underlayment and decking, and ends up in:
- Attic insulation (becomes soaked, loses R-value)
- Drywall ceilings on the top floor
- Wall cavities, especially exterior walls
- Light fixtures and electrical boxes
- Sometimes finished basements (water tracking through the wall system from above)
By the time the water is visible, it's usually been working for days or weeks.
What we do, and what we don't
This is worth being clear about up front.
What we do: Haul out the damaged material once it's been pulled. Wet drywall, soaked insulation, damaged flooring, furniture that can't be saved. We bring a dumpster to the property, or come with the junk removal truck and load it up.
What we don't do: Pull the damaged material ourselves as a default service. We don't do interior demo, mold remediation, or biohazard cleanup. Those are different specialties and usually go through a remediation contractor.
The way the work typically sequences:
- Damage assessment. Insurance adjuster, contractor, sometimes a remediation specialist walks the property.
- Remediation. The contractor or remediation specialist pulls the wet drywall and insulation. If mold is present, they handle the contained removal.
- Haul. That's where we come in. The dumpster or truck takes the pulled material away.
If your project is at step 3, we're a good fit.
Sizing the haul
Rough starting points for ice dam damage haul:
- Single ceiling section, contained damage: A truckload visit or 10-yard tier dumpster
- Multiple rooms affected: 15-yard
- Whole-floor damage (water spread across multiple rooms upstairs): 20-yard
- Basement flooding from water tracking down plus upper-floor damage: 20-yard
The actual scope depends on how widely the water spread.
Materials we can haul vs not
Most ice dam debris is fine in a dumpster or truck load:
- Wet drywall, plaster, lath
- Insulation (fiberglass, cellulose, blown-in)
- Damaged flooring (laminate, vinyl, hardwood, carpet)
- Furniture damaged beyond salvage
- Personal items in flooded areas
The things we can't take in a regular load:
- Active mold growth in contained-disposal categories (needs the remediation contractor's specific channel)
- Liquids of any kind
- Biohazard
If your damage involves mold or extended water exposure, the remediation contractor usually handles the contained disposal. We're a fit when the material has been pulled and is ready for a regular haul.
What about insurance documentation
We don't issue insurance-specific paperwork. We can give you the standard dumpster rental invoice with the size, dates, and address. If your insurance company wants weight tickets or specific disposal documentation, ask them what they need before booking. Some claims work with the standard invoice. Some need more, which is usually arranged through the remediation contractor.
Roof debris cleanup
Sometimes the ice dam itself caused roof damage that produced its own debris. Shingles knocked off, gutters torn down, ice-cracked sections of trim. The roofing contractor handles the tear-off and repair. Our dumpster on site catches the debris.
If a roofer is involved on the repair side, they can book the dumpster directly with us.
The basement-flood version
A specific subset of ice dam damage: water tracks all the way down a wall and floods a finished basement. This produces a bigger haul because finished basements have:
- Drywall to pull
- Carpet and padding to remove
- Sometimes baseboards and trim
- Personal items stored down there
- Sometimes finished ceilings and built-in cabinets
A finished basement after ice dam damage often turns into a 20-yard dumpster on site for the demo phase.
The booking call
For the haul side of ice dam damage cleanup, the questions are:
- Scope of damaged material (one room, multiple rooms, whole floor, basement included)
- Whether the demo has already been done or is still pending
- Whether a remediation contractor is involved
- Materials going (mostly drywall and insulation, or mixed with personal items)
- Timing
Text photos of the staged material to 603-634-9947 with the address. If the demo hasn't happened yet, send photos of the damage so we can sort out the right approach.
Call 603-634-9947 to talk through the project. We can coordinate the haul timing with whatever crew is doing the demo work on your end.