Emergency Ice and Snow Removal Services
Winter Roof Care From A Roofing Company Your Neighbors Have Trusted Since 1987
Our Expert Roofing Services for Snow and Ice
Winter in the Sierra doesn’t wait for a convenient time, and neither should your roof care. As the region’s number one residential roofer, family-owned in these communities since 1987, Mills Roofing has built our ice and snow removal service around one goal: getting a trained crew to your roof on a clear schedule, with a documented plan, before a small problem becomes a structural one.
Many of our clients first hear about us from a neighbor rather than an advertisement, which is exactly how we’d want it. This is a service built for people who have chosen to put down roots in Reno, Sparks, Tahoe, Truckee, Carson Valley, and Fallon-Fernley, and who want a roofer who knows those communities the way they do.
Why Snow and Ice Removal Matters
A roof’s framing may be engineered to carry a significant snow load, but the exterior materials sitting on top of that framing are a different story. Asphalt shingles and metal panels aren’t rated to hold hundreds of pounds of accumulated, saturated snow for weeks at a time. As snowpack compresses and refreezes into a dense layer, the weight on your roof deck climbs well past what fresh powder alone would suggest, and the risk shifts from cosmetic to structural.
The more common failure point, though, isn’t collapse. It’s water. As snow near the roof’s ridge melts from attic heat loss and refreezes at the colder eaves, it forms an ice dam, a ridge of ice that blocks proper drainage and forces meltwater backward, up and under your shingles. From there, it travels along the roof deck until it finds a seam, a nail hole, or a soffit vent, and shows up weeks later as a stain on a ceiling or a damp patch in an attic, long after the storm that caused it has passed. Because of that lag, a lot of interior water damage from ice dams gets misdiagnosed as a plumbing or condensation issue rather than traced back to the roofline.
Homes at higher elevations, like those in Truckee, Tahoe, and Incline, see this cycle repeat multiple times in a single season because of the freeze-thaw pattern at that altitude. Lower-elevation homes in Reno and Sparks tend to see fewer but heavier single events, often tied to specific storm systems moving through the Sierra.
What Our Ice and Snow Removal Service Includes
Roof Snow and Ice Removal
We clear accumulated snow and ice from the roof surface using methods matched to your roofing material, hand tools and roof rakes on shingle roofs to avoid granule loss, and techniques suited to standing-seam or corrugated metal that won’t scratch or dent the panel finish. The goal on every job is to reduce the load on the structure and remove the water source before it has a chance to work its way under your roofing.
Ice Dam Prevention and Removal
For dams that have already formed, we use controlled steam or calcium-based methods to break down the ice without damaging shingles, gutters, or the roof deck underneath, unlike pressure washing or chipping, which can crack tiles or tear off granules and create a bigger problem than the one you started with. For homes with a history of ice damming, we can also evaluate attic insulation and ventilation, since dams are frequently a symptom of heat escaping unevenly through the roof rather than a random weather event.
Metal Roof Skirt Installation
On asphalt and composite roofs, a metal roof skirt installed along vulnerable edges creates a hard transition that channels meltwater away from the areas most prone to damming in the first place. It’s a one-time installation rather than a recurring service, and it’s one of the more effective long-term fixes we install for clients who deal with the same ice dam location year after year. Our installers integrate skirting into an existing roof or as part of a full replacement, and the work is backed by our Owens Corning® Platinum Preferred and CertainTeed® Select ShingleMaster credentials, both of which require manufacturer-verified installation training, not just a supplier relationship.
Why This Protects Your Roof
Prevents structural strain
Removing accumulated snow and ice before it compounds keeps the load on your roof deck within what your framing was built to carry.
Reduces water intrusion risk
Clearing ice dams before meltwater finds a way beneath your shingles protects the interior of your home, not just the roofline itself.
Extends the life of your roof
Proactive removal avoids the granule loss, flashing damage, and slow deck deterioration that come from repeated freeze-thaw cycles left unaddressed season after season.
Ask About Our Snow Monitoring Membership
Rather than waiting for a storm to prompt a call, a growing number of our clients keep us on a standing snow monitoring watch. We track conditions on your roof through the winter and reach out proactively when a visit is warranted, so you’re never alone wondering about the condition of your roof during the coldest part of the season.
Built Around Your Schedule, Not Around Ours
A lot of our clients are working from home, running a business out of the house, or managing a second property from somewhere else entirely. A crew showing up unannounced isn’t just an inconvenience in that situation; it’s a disruption to a workday. So every ice and snow job starts with a call to understand what you’re seeing on your roof, moves to a firm scheduled arrival window that we hold, and ends with photo documentation of the completed work and a straightforward conversation about how often the service makes sense for your specific roofline going forward.
If you’re not on-site, that doesn’t change how this works.
A meaningful share of the homes we service in Tahoe and Truckee are second or seasonal properties, and their owners aren’t in a position to watch the crew from the driveway. We can coordinate project scheduling entirely by phone, document every stage with photos, and send you updates as the job progresses, so you know exactly where things stand, whether you’re down the street or across the country.
Our Streamlined 3-Step Process for Snow and Ice Removal Services
If your roof is loaded with snow and ice, we understand you need prompt help. Dealing with a winter storm is stressful enough. The last thing you need to jump through hoops to get your roof fixed. We offer a simple three-step process to make benefiting from our winter roof services as streamlined as possible.
- Call Mills Roofing. Tell us what you’re seeing on your roof this winter, how much snow has accumulated, and whether you’ve noticed any icicles, interior staining, or ice buildup at the eaves. This service is billed at an hourly rate with a minimum fee, and we’ll walk you through that cost before any work is scheduled.
- Get a scheduled date. We’ll find a time that works for you and hold it. If conditions on your roof suggest the situation can’t reasonably wait, we’ll say so directly rather than let you guess.
- Get your roof cleared and documented. We clear the snow and ice, safely from your roof, photographing before and after for your and our records, and ensuring your home is ready for the next storm.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no single number that applies to every roof, since it depends on your roof’s age, pitch, structural condition, and whether the snow is fresh powder or compacted and saturated. As a general signal, doors and windows that suddenly stick, visible sagging along the roofline, or cracking and popping sounds from the attic warrant a call rather than a wait-and-see approach.
Homeowners can sometimes manage light surface snow with a roof rake from the ground, but ice dam removal at height, especially with chipping, salt, or improvised heating methods, carries real risk of shingle damage, gutter damage, or a fall. Most of the ice dam repairs we’re called out for follow a DIY attempt that made the underlying problem worse.
It depends heavily on elevation and roof design. Homes in Truckee and Tahoe with a history of damming often benefit from a mid-season check in addition to post-storm clearing, while lower-elevation homes in Reno and Sparks may only need service after specific heavy-snow events. We’ll give you a specific recommendation after the first visit rather than a generic schedule.
Ice dam-related interior damage is sometimes covered, depending on your policy and whether the dam is judged to be a maintenance failure versus a sudden weather event. We can document the condition of your roof at the time of service, which is often the documentation an adjuster asks for, but we’d recommend confirming coverage specifics directly with your insurer.
Depend on Mills Roofing for Your Winter Roof Care
Don’t let this winter end with a roof tragedy. Please call the pros at Mills Roofing to for more details and to book your snow removal job.
Serving Homeowners in Spanish and Vietnamese
A crew you can talk to in your own language matters, especially when you’re describing what’s happening on your roof. Mills Roofing offers service in Spanish and Vietnamese, so a language barrier is never the reason a small roof issue goes unaddressed.
Here’s what our customers are saying…
SheilaWe recently used Mills for a repair of an ice dam (and water running down our walls) and also for snow clearing. They responded on a weekend, were quick to provide a remedy and very professional in their communication. Highly recommended!
ScottI recently used Mills Roofing to clear my Tahoe Donner roof of snow and ice dams. Dawn Mills and the crews were extremely responsive, showed up when they said they would, provided clear options and pricing for the services and completed the work on time and under their quoted price. I will definitely use them again and plan to use them to replace our 22 year old roof this summer.
JonBrad was great in explaining the work and talking us through the timeline and cost of the project. When the crew arrived they were friendly, hard working and they kept the job site exceptionally clean each day.
Financing That Works on Your Timeline
A significant snow or ice event can mean unplanned roof work on top of whatever else the season already has planned for your household. Through our financing partner, Synchrony®, you can time repairs or a full roof replacement around your own budget rather than the weather, with competitive rates and payment plans structured to fit. Many homeowners use financing this way, as a timing tool rather than a necessity, and we’re glad to walk you through how it works.
Mills Roofing Is Ready to Help
Beyond Snow and Ice, We Handle the Whole Roof
Ice and snow removal is one piece of what we do. The same crew that clears your roof this winter also handles maintenance plans, storm and leak repair, and full roof replacement in metal or shingle, so you’re never stuck explaining your roof’s history to someone new.
Family-owned and operating in this region since 1987, Mills Roofing has spent close to four decades learning exactly how a Sierra winter treats a roof, town by town and elevation by elevation. Technical know-how and a detailed inspection process are standard on every job we take, not an upsell, and we’d rather earn a customer for the next twenty winters than for a single storm.
Contact Mills Roofing today to schedule your ice and snow removal service.
