With the amount of snow we've received in the past two weeks, its time to consider shoveling the roofs. Which brings to mind, just how far south do people get up on their roofs and shovel them? The farther south you go, the less snow you get. But then, the roofs are built not as strong as they are for the snow load consideration. Question is- Do you shovel your roof? Where do you live?
I live in Georgia, about 40 minutes - 3 hours outside Atlanta (Rush hour is no joke here ) and Ive never shoveled the roof, or come remotely close to needing to
No, but we have a gambrel (Dutch colonial) so the roof is either very steep or a much shorter span in the shallower portion. Very rare for people to shovel roofs here, but it happens. Southern Mass
In years when we get over 100" of snow there may be a need to shovel but most of the time we don't. Some guys shovel just the lower portion to help with ice dams but for weight I only do it when I know theres a lot and rain is coming.
I've got a simple "ranch" house with a 2 sided (East and West facing) 4-12 pitched roof. I don't have any valleys or any such structure up there to really catch and hold a lot of snow. I've had probably 18-24" up there in spots at times but not over the whole roof. I use a roof rake to keep the snow off the lower 3 feet of my roof on each side as I have a 3 foot eave overhang that is prone to ice dams because it's outside the shell of the house.
A 4 pitch roof is a scary nearly flat roof for snow loads. It wouldn't hurt to get some of that off if you can. It's only November...you could be shoveling a lot this winter
We do occasionally here. Certainly not like the weekly job we had when we lived further north. Once in a great while we'll go the whole winter with not having to plow any snow! I remember one year getting a whopping 17" of snow for the entire winter! Not bad and spring came early that year too.
Just raked the roof yesterday. I don't like leaving snow up there, because like MW, we'll get icicles and dams. Insufficient insulation coupled with inadequate ventilation and we gots problems. I don't need to go all the way to the peak, but I get within a couple feet. Not fully sure of the pitch, but there's more than one and neither is very steep. We got somewhere above 6" of snow a couple days ago, and I didn't get out there before the icicles started......so did the damm dams.
We'll have lived here almost 11 years, I've never been on the roof to shovel, I just use the roof rake on the first two feet. If we received the snow some of the areas around Buffalo did, I would be on the roof removing snow.
+2 I rake my roof as well. I got my roof rakes from a dept store by me and it has extensions you hook up that can reach quite a bit..
My roof rake is aluminum. The braces broke where they connect to the "head". I may need to get some conduit and make new ones. I hate the idea of buying a new rake.
Roofs up here are engineered for our snow loads. You actually do more damage to your shingles by walking on them when they are frozen. Especially if they are fiberglass. Now Buffalo is a whole other story. If they get the warm up this weekend with the heavy rain then there are going to be some serious roof collapses for sure. Wishing those poor folks some luck in dealing with whats coming.
Never shoveled my roof. Probably a combination of wind, lower than average snow accumulations and just enough warm ups to keep the snow levels down. Good thing too, because I have a center entrance colonial, and that roof is a looooong way off the ground.
I have had the same problem and replaced it with those metal cross members used to keep floor joists straight. I doubled up on them as they were thin and the Red Green repair lasted a few years. I did find a site that sells all the replacement parts.. http://www.roofrake.com/Productpages/deluxeroofrakeparts.asp
Have had one of these for the last 2 winters. I really like the extendable handle... I've got places I need 7' and then a section I need 17' . A lot easier than the 3 section handles bolted together I've had. On the farm's big roof I used to use 5 sections bolted up. Still could only get about 6' up from the eaves. It was enough to prevent ice issues tho. http://www.homedepot.com/p/True-Temper-17-ft-Telescoping-Roof-Rake-193055510/202943651
Wow, thanks for that link, gbreda. Didn't even think of looking for their website. I must have the deluxe Jr. It was here when we moved in back in '06, so it's on it's 9th year for us and I have no idea how long it was in use before that. Might just buy the braces and redo this one. Might need a couple rollers too. Thanks again.
