Raking the roof - Take it all off?

[butcher bergs]

First off, I'd like to say one thing:

Fuck everything to do with roofs!





Mrs. bergs and I are in somewhat of a disagreement as far as raking roofs are concerned. She's convinced that, because she saw people raking 10' or so up, I should do the same.

Me, on the other hand, wants to clear the entire roof for the sole purpose of relieving the house of stress.


This motivation is coming from last weekend when I stopped by Stoneman's while he was clearing his roof. There was another member there, tonup (Brad?) that got me all worried about this roof raking business so here I am, one side of my roof clear of snow, the other side waiting to kill me off once and for all.

So, do I rake a few feet up or get the entire thing?

[Kurlon]

I've been told by my roofing guy not to rake my roof unless we're talking CRAZY CRAZY snow load, and then don't scrape it down to the shingles, keep the rake floating and leave a layer of snow between it and the roof surface. If you can do the whole roof that way, cool. Mine's too tall so I could only get one side, and only maybe 6' up on that side.

[Sidewinder]

The reason people only go up a few feet roof raking is due to most homes only apply ice and what shield at the roof eave's and If you where to per say stop 8' up the roof that is where you will have ice daming and when it starts to melt will seep through you shingles into the woof past the insulation and before you know it you have water damage inside you house.

I'm with you I'm heading up to my lake house to roof rake as well, I put Ice and water shield on the entire house.

[butcher bergs]

Well, because of the layer of crusted snow I ended up ditching the rake and ended up using a plastic shovel. I was ableto get down to the shingles without even trying. It's at the point where the sun is hitting the backside of the house and whatever is left is melting.

As far as "crazy amounts" of snow, the backside of the house was just above knee height.

I'm hardly losing any heat from the roof as I don't have any icicles forming, it's the weight that I'm mostly concerned with.

[Cerberus]

wtf is with that avatar picture?!?!

[Ray-Ray]

wtf is with that avatar picture?!?!

umm yeah...kinda weird Bergs

[MissTwisties]

We shoveled the whole darn snow off the roof.

[dontpanic]

Flat roof. No insulation. What, me worry?

[Doc]

Slate roof, Huge Pitch. It just slides right off.

That said, up here in Vermont we must build em different. I don't know that many people that shovel of their roof.

(Unless there is a Huge snow load)

[tdiloren]

Depending on the roof construction unless you have more then two feet on it then shoveling really isn't needed. Ice dams start at the bottom of the roof because it starts to freeze before the rest then the melting snow backs up behind it (Ice Dam). Just rake the first four feet so the sun can clear it and you'll be fine.

[ThisBitch]

I say shovel the whole thing. When we lived in Berlin, we had the snow let loose twice, once it took the entire back deck off of our house and the next time, it cut my mom's Subaru in half.

[butcher bergs]

There is much more than 2' on this roof. I'm not sure of the pitch but it's a fairly conservative angle....maybe a 6 or 7 pitch?

[BluGixxer]

How about the lazy people, any other way of getting snow of f?
Melting it maybe with ice melt products ?

[ninjachica250]

Put rock salt in pantyhose and tie off the tops... throw them up on the roof and it'll help melt the snow. Or check for rock salt hockey pucks (not sure of the name) at your local hardware store.

[RandyO]

How about the lazy people, any other way of getting snow of f?
Melting it maybe with ice melt products ?

careful, as the more common ice melters can kill shrubbery and plants around your house, use Urea based ice melters

[gadget]

Put rock salt in pantyhose and tie off the tops... throw them up on the roof and it'll help melt the snow. Or check for rock salt hockey pucks (not sure of the name) at your local hardware store.

In six months I will be posting "How do I get all these old pairs of panty hose off my roof?"

[butcher bergs]

No chemicals or salt in pantyhose on my roof.

Pretty sure my well, concrete stairs and wooden deck wouldn't like that too much. Besides, I'd rather keep the pantyhose for Friday nights on the town.



Jackie - Your suggestion is my original game plan.

Thread was posted more out of curiosity on how far up to rake the roof. Seems "all or nothing" is the way to go.

[ninjachica250]

pics???

[R7]

There's 2 things to worry about with snow loads on roofs..
#1 is ice dams
#2 is rain

Just snow, your roof can hold 3,4 maybe even 5' of snow without much of an issue. Normal melting takes weight off, not add to it.
Rain however, traps the water in the snow for several hours before it slowly drains out..adding a shit load of weight.
Cleaning the first 4-6' will help avoid the ice dams and at the same time will allow the water from rain to drain off faster.
There's no need to clean the entire roof, you're waisting time and taking life off of your roof at the same time. Roof shingles are VERY brittle when it's cold, let alone when they are frozen and covered in ice/snow.
Also never put any type of chemical on your roof. Roofs are designed to protect against weather and UV, not ice melts, salts, etc...and in the summer, this includes wasp/insect killer

[tdiloren]

careful, as the more common ice melters can kill shrubbery and plants around your house, use Urea based ice melters

With the plants dead it means less work in the summer and more time for riding . Carefull on the roof. Safety harnesses are cheap and definitly cheaper then a trip to the ER. Again depending on construction it's amazing what a roof will hold but better safe then sorry. Good luck.

[tdiloren]

How about the lazy people, any other way of getting snow of f?
Melting it maybe with ice melt products ?

Hire a roofer to do it.
I agree with R7 I just like to be conservative while handing out advice without seeing the project.

[kb1]

I just finished raking my roof - did about 6-10 feet on both sides to avoid the ice dams. I would hope, living in New England, the roof could hold a few feet of snow. I would NEVER walk on my roof unnecessarily in the winter, the shingles are way to brittle.

[mikeb]

i had to uncover my bathroom vent after that huge storm. i've always in the past worried about my roof. this year i said f' it. if dams develop i'll shovel it but other than that screw it.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

Paul,

I don't feel like typing a page, but feel free to call me. My old man is a contractor, and I've spent plenty of time shoveling roofs.

Short version: A few feet and smashing the ice dam is fine. Snow isn't heavy as far as your roof is concerned, it's rain and ice dam. That said, when I had to do the old mans roof I shoveled the entire damn thing. Couldn't edge w/ the roof rake due to layers of snoww, 6" of dust on top of a crust the roof rake wouldn't break. I didn't want to have to do it again this winter so I just did it all right the first time.

[Diggers+Wheelez]

saw a guy yesterday using a hand held leafblower on his roof. it was doing a pretty good job and no damage to shingles.