Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > Best Snow thrower or Electric shovel for doing a Roof
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
|
Steve_Cebu
 
Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888
![]()
|
 |
Re: Best Snow thrower or Electric shovel for doing a Roof
Reply #34 Feb 3, 2011 11:20 am |
|
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. 
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.
"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England." "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
|
borat
Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692
![]()
|
|
|
Re: Best Snow thrower or Electric shovel for doing a Roof
Reply #36 Feb 3, 2011 11:52 am |
|
"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.
This message was modified Feb 3, 2011 by borat
|
Steve_Cebu
Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888
![]()
|
|
|
Re: Best Snow thrower or Electric shovel for doing a Roof
Reply #37 Feb 3, 2011 12:18 pm |
|
"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.
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. 
"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England." "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
|
Shryp
Location: Cleveland, OH
Joined: Jul 26, 2010
Points: 532
![]()
|
|
|
Re: Best Snow thrower or Electric shovel for doing a Roof
Reply #40 Feb 3, 2011 1:25 pm |
|
Just found this video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2e1_1296706889 and http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fdad73e43
This message was modified Feb 3, 2011 by Shryp
|
|
|
LOL - just remembered the scene from Grumpy Old Men where they shoot water from a garden hose onto the snowy roof over an entryway, so that it forms a sheet of ice under the snow thus causing an avalanche for the unwitting homeowner who steps out the door (with slamming of said door causing the avalanche).