Living in New England we are used to shoveling walkways, driveways, and sidewalks. With the snow we've had this winter we are now shoveling our roofs!
I'm lucky that my roof has such a pitch that I don't have to worry about it, but I do have two porch roofs (Why isn't that spelled rooves?) that need to be shoveled off.
How safe is it to shovel off a roof? I haven't heard of anyone falling so far this year, which is a good thing, lol. But every time I see someone up there I can't help but worry for them.
But there's also danger in not removing it - a roof can start to leak or even collapse under the weight of the snow. Some buildings such as barns have collapsed.
We now have a new tool for winter - a roof rake. It looks like this.
I googled and it looks like they cost around $30-50. So they're a lot more expensive than a shovel. I saw many people up on ladders raking their roofs, but I also saw people right up there on the roof pushing the snow off. Scary stuff!
So here's the instructions for raking your roof.
1. Shovel a clear path around the perimeter of your house (So that you can have a sure place to put the ladder.
2. Walk the path to pack the snow and make sure that the ground is firm and your ladder won't sink with you on it.
3. Have someone on the ground spotting you so you don't fall. Just don't pull the snow on their heads.
4. Pull the snow off the roof keeping a thin layer of snow on the roof. You don't want to damage the shingles. Also, make sure you buy a plastic rake so you don't damage your shingles.
If you have a lot of icicles (or deathcicles as my daughter calls them), you are probably losing a lot of heat through your roof.
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