Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm looking for something that would be good for doing our roof. obviously the big 2 stage Toro won't be able to do it and would be a PITA to get up a ladder or out a window.

We have a new roof so I don't want to hurt the roof but the snow is really built up out there and it tends to melt very slowly. We are heading into Feb and lots more snow so I need something light enough and easy to manuever to use up there. The roof is pretty steep and in one section windows are mounted in the roof so that area might not be possible. They want a fortune to clear it and only the lesser section so I need something. Electric would probably be ok but it has to have enough power and the roof is pretty steep and high.

Any ideas?

Coupla other thoughts...

- Pantyhose filled with ice melter (MgCl) placed near the roof peak might work, but will take a little while.

- they make an ice melter product for roofs, forget what it's called but it looks like hockey pucks.  you throw them up on the roof and they are supposed to melt the ice/snow.  last time I looked, they sold them at ACE Hardware, but they may be sold out in your area.  Kinda pricey for one-time use.

- if it is fluffy enough, use a leaf blower.

- if you have good footing and/or can tie a safety rope to yourself, I'd recommend shoveling.  I have one of the Garant snow scoops that moves something like six shovelfuls of snow at a time, and you just slide it along, no lifting necessary - it'll glide right over the snow so you can take a bite of the top two feet, push it off, then take a bite of the remaining snow.  I got mine at the local ACE Hardware for around $40, but I think Home Depot also carries it, as well as Amazon, for higher prices - search for B000JLK0SM  on Amazon, or search for Garant snow scoop.  It does have a metal edge that might be a little hard on the shingles if you scoop down that far.  There is a UHMW shovel (thesnowplow.com) out there that might be easier on the shingles and I hear good things about it, but haven't personally used it; however, since it is just a pusher, may be hard to deal with pushing three feet of snow.

p.s. - I used that snow scoop to clean my driveway the other day just to see how long it would take, cleaned 2500sq.ft. averaging four inches of snow in a little over an hour, just taking it easy.  Never lifted any snow, just slid it around and relocated it on top of existing snow piles.  Worked great on EOD stuff, too.  This really didn't take much longer than using the blower, and it was great exercise and kept me warmer. 

longboat wrote:

I've seen the Garant snow scoops on TV. They look pretty good. Stuff that melts the snow won't work. I can upload a pic to show some of the snow if you like but it's really deep up there. it's not fluffy any longer it's compacted and a real pain to shovel. I'm not sure what i'm going to do at this point. We are getting another storm on Saturday and we are still in the first week of Feb. The upper roof has no way to tie a safety rope to anything. It's really dangerous up there. Thanks for the suggestions.

What about a chimney or a sewer vent pipe?  Not sure how "safe" either would be, but a brick chimney or a cast iron 6" pipe should both hold a decent amount of weight.  I was thinking of one of those hook ladders, but I think you would have to clear a path down the roof before you would be able to hook it to anything.  What about tying a rope to a tree and then draping it over the roof?  Have you thought about convincing the wife that it can be part of her weekly workout, and if she does fall there is enough snow on the ground to catch her? :)

"if she does fall there is enough snow on the ground to catch her? :)"

At 83 lbs., she'll fall like a leaf. 

Steve:

Can you get up into the attic to take a look at your truss's and rafters to see if they're deflecting excessively?   A slight bit of deflections is normal.  Particularly under such a load.   However, serious deflection will indicate the need to get the snow off.  If you see very obvious bowing of the the roof supports, you'd probably do something about it a.s.a.p.  If there's little bowing, chances are the roof is good for what it's bearing and probably considerably more.  

If you're into mathematics and can estimate your roof configuration, the following might be of some assistance to you:

http://www.jabacus.com/engineering/load/snowload.php

By the way, if you must go up on the roof, as mentioned by another participant, tying a long piece of 1/2 climbing rope or similar to a tree on the opposite side of the house will allow you to work one slope.  You could tie off on both sides simultaneously using the same method.   Once you're up there, the snow will likely keep you in place until it's been cleared.  I'd start at the bottom and work toward the peak so that you don't have to move the snow twice.

borat wrote:

We don't have an attic  and as Shryp mentioned a piece of pipe is unlikely to hold my 200 lbs on the roof should I go over the edge. The trees are too far for a rope to be of any use and I'd have to get a rope up mighty high for it to be useful. trees to the front and back where I am most likely going to fall off are about 60 feet away at the closest. The sides are a bit closer but the roof is pretty huge. It doesn't show in the pics but I've been up there in the summer and it's vast and empty up there. I've asked my neighbor who runs a farm about it and he thinks a pro is the only way to go. Too risky he says and he's been up on this roof a few times. He feels the chimney would be too close to the edge to be useful. He said if I fell from up there it would be bad, very bad. I might have to pony up the $500 they want to clear the entire roof. I used to clean the metal roof for my fathers company before he retired back when I was 14 and I slid off it with no hope of stopping it had less pitch than this roof but this one is higher with a layer of ice so just as slippery. This roof is vast and empty with nothing to tie onto just like that one. Fortunately I landed in a deep snowbank which literally buried me big chunk of ice in that snowbank really hurt when I smacked into it. Ah to be young and stupid again.

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Steve, If you can use your car on one side of the house and tie the end of the rope there or maybe put a large knot and roll over it to hold it.

hirschallan wrote:

That might work, the only thing is I can only do that on one side and it's looking less likely because the layer of ice up there makes it tough to get any footing. I think I'm just going to pay a guy to do the job. If I get injured it'll cost me a lot more than $500.

Just found this video:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2e1_1296706889

and

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fdad73e43

Shryp wrote:

Yeah I saw that on NECN they've been running it for a couple of days now. Good thing those people are ok. Lots of other roofs going down but so far none in my area. I have a call into the guy who did the roof and since he's a neighbor hopefully he can evaluate how much more the roof can take before it gets too risky.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Only other thing I can think of is trailer house anchors or the corkscrew dog leash anchors - they'll hold you for sure.  They might be a little tough to drive into frozen ground - might have to put some warm saltwater on the ground before you dig in (I've dug a few postholes in frozen ground that way - chip out a little depression in the ground, put some warm saltwater in there and cover it and let it sit overnight) .  However, in the end, if you're not comfortable with what you are doing, then best to pay the pros.