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Remove Ice Dams From Your Roof -- For The Best Price

By Reg Chapman, WCCO-TV

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Ice dams are a homeowner's nightmare, but who do you call to help rid your home of this?

"How much is it? Who can do it? What's fair? What's not fair? So, I knew it was a hot topic, so I decided to go and do some research on my own," said Diana Herzan, who writes customer reviews for the Examiner.com.

Herzan's article on snow and ice dam removal, which addresses how much it should cost and how much is too much, is getting a lot of attention.

She checked the top 20 ice dam removal companies in the Twin Cities and found what she believes to be a good price for this service.

"Go around $300 an hour per man. I think that's pretty fair and pretty reasonable," she said.

However, one WCCO-TV viewer says the price for ice dam removal is all over the board. Seven days ago, she paid a local company $275 an hour to get rid of her ice dam.

WCCO-TV called the company Wednesday and the message stated that they were really busy, but quoted their new hourly rate.

"Our current hourly rate for ice dam removal via steam is $475 per hour. We have a two-hour minimum and the average job takes some two to four hours," said the message.

Herzan says some companies are taking advantage of homeowners who desperately need this service. However, she added that homeowners should expect to pay big bucks because the companies that provide this service have a lot of expenses.

"They have a lot of money into their workman's compensation insurance and their insurance for that type of work, and their equipment as well," Kerzan said.

Her Zahn's top pick is Walker Roofing. Chad from Walker Roofing says their prices reflect the expense of gasoline and antifreeze used in the steamer.

WCCO-TV's Reg Chapman Reports

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