Removing snow off roofs

[Lakesrider]

Yeah if you think of the gazzilions of houses out there and how many actually collapse from snow load.....I still take some off 'cause I can with a snow rake. I won't climb up anywhere. Nice if you have ranch house. Only rain on the snow makes me nervous.
This powdery stuff not so much. But I still take it off when it gets to about a foot or so deep. Just no sense in risking it I guess. It's like playing the lottery.... You never know when your gonna win....or lose.

[MarkinNH]

I have used a straight clawed hammer to chop away at ice damns for many years with no problems. I just use it on the thick heavy ice near the edge of the roof. The key is to have enough intelligance and common sense to know when your close enough and it's time to stop.

[Cobalt 25]

Although I have absolutely no knowledge about O'Lyn (or O'Lynn ?) Roofing, it doesn't seem fair to disparage a business without first hand experience with their work. A public forum hardly seems to be the place to make accusations about someone's livelihood without proof.

Positive suggestions on snow removal are always welcome. The advice of MarkinNH says it all- use common sense and know when to stop. I have used both a sledge hammer and a 2 pound hammer this year to break up the six inch thick ice on a section of my house with rubber roofing. Works for me...

Peter

[KDL]

Originally Posted by MarkinNH

I have used a straight clawed hammer to chop away at ice damns for many years with no problems. I just use it on the thick heavy ice near the edge of the roof. The key is to have enough intelligance and common sense to know when your close enough and it's time to stop.

Agree. We have been clearing a lot of snow and ice dams. We`either use a straight claw hammer or a small hatchet to cut small channels in the ice to relive the water. An inch of ice left on the roof won't hurt anything. We never touch the shingles.

[Chillin & Grillin]

Originally Posted by Lakesrider

Yeah if you think of the gazzilions of houses out there and how many actually collapse from snow load.....I still take some off 'cause I can with a snow rake. I won't climb up anywhere. Nice if you have ranch house. Only rain on the snow makes me nervous.
This powdery stuff not so much. But I still take it off when it gets to about a foot or so deep. Just no sense in risking it I guess. It's like playing the lottery.... You never know when your gonna win....or lose.

I have two 10,000 sf metal building in CT with a 3 pitch. The snow on the roof was 3' wet & packed mid last week. I cut out one square feet by 3' high put it in a garbage back and weighed it. 58.9 pounds! The building is designed to CT codes rated for 35 lbs per sqft.
So 20,000 sqft x 60 lbs = 1.2 million lbs.

I spend three days x 10 mens + rented lifts. Building is now cleared. Better safe then sorry.

There have been a number of commercial collapses in CT this past week.

[Lakesrider]

I used to work down at Hanscom Air Force Base. We had 20,000 sq ft Aircraft Hangars. We would actually hoist up snow blowers to the roof. If your at a million lbs I can't imagine what we had on the roofs during some of the storms we had down there. I agree, simple insurance is to get the snow off, if possible.

[KDL]

Originally Posted by Chillin & Grillin

I have two 10,000 sf metal building in CT with a 3 pitch. The snow on the roof was 3' wet & packed mid last week. I cut out one square feet by 3' high put it in a garbage back and weighed it. 58.9 pounds! The building is designed to CT codes rated for 35 lbs per sqft.
So 20,000 sqft x 60 lbs = 1.2 million lbs.

I spend three days x 10 mens + rented lifts. Building is now cleared. Better safe then sorry.

There have been a number of commercial collapses in CT this past week.

Truly amazing figures.