Roof shoveling

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blu2u2

New member
Having been an insurance claims adjuster for over 8 years I have seen several roofs that failed from the weight of ice and snow. This time of year the weather can be warm enough for rain. 2'-3' of snow and 1/2" of rain equal bad news for roofs! In addition to the weight issue; ice dams can cause issues with interior water damage. Using a roof rake can easily prevent most ice dams since only the lower 8'-12' feet up from the gutter needs to be clear. Most roof rakes come with extension poles that allow the operator to not have to climb a ladder. Finally, I have never heard of anyone falling through a roof while they were in the process of removing the snow.
 
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snobuilder

Well-known member
blu2u2 said:
Having been an insurance claims adjuster for over 8 years I have seen several roofs that failed from the weight of ice and snow. This time of year the weather can be warm enough for rain. 2'-3' of snow and 1/2" of rain equal bad news for roofs! In addition to the weight issue; ice dams can cause issues with interior water damage. Using a roof rake can easily prevent most ice dams since only the lower 8'-12' feet up from the gutter needs to be clear. Most roof rakes come with extension poles that allow the operator to not have to climb a ladder. Finally, I have never heard of anyone falling through a roof while they were in the process of removing the snow.
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The OP doesn't mention falling through the roof, and the subject is shoveling not raking.

As an insurance expert, do you recommend your insured get up on there roofs in winter?

BTW, Not sure how it works where you live, but if it is warm enough to rain, the snow is melting off my roof as well as the rain running off.

LOL
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
If you don't take the snow load off of a roof here in the Keweenaw, you are asking for trouble. Roofs with a pitch of 4/12 or less should definitely be cleared of a heavy snow load. I am in the insurance business, I have also lived here in snow country most of my life, cleaning a roof off is a normal common sense routine here. This winter has been exceptionally cold as well as exceptionally snowy initially. We've had no real thaw's until recently, as such, those with metal roofs have not seen the normal "shedding" process thus holding an exceptional amount of snow which was & in some cases still is very dense. I have a customer that lost a 9 yr. old 40x80 pole building with a metal roof & 6/12 pitch trusses in the later part of January. We normally would have seen a period of thawing occur but this year we did not. Now, I am not advocating any body get up on that particular type of roof due to the sliding danger, however, raking & or rope cutting into the snow pack to try & break the bond to promote it to slide is recommended. If the property owner cannot, then you should hire a licensed & insured contractor to do it. Most people don't realize that if you don't take measures to preserve & protect your property you could be faced with a larger issue with the insurance company should something catastrophic happen.-Mezz
 
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snocrazy

Active member
mezz said:
If you don't take the snow load off of a roof here in the Keweenaw, you are asking for trouble. Roofs with a pitch of 4/12 or less should definitely be cleared of a heavy snow load. I am in the insurance business, I have also lived here in snow country most of my life, cleaning a roof off is a normal common sense routine here. This winter has been exceptionally cold as well as exceptionally snowy initially. We've had no real thaw's until recently, as such, those with metal roofs have not seen the normal "shedding" process thus holding an exceptional amount of snow which was & in some cases still is very dense. I have a customer that lost a 9 yr. old 40x80 pole building with a metal roof & 6/12 pitch trusses in the later part of January. We normally would have seen a period of thawing occur but this year we did not. Now, I am not advocating any body get up on that particular type of roof due to the sliding danger, however, raking & or rope cutting into the snow pack to try & break the bond to promote it to slide is recommended. If the property owner cannot, then you should hire a licensed & insured contractor to do it. Most people don't realize that if you don't take measures to preserve & protect your property you could be faced with a larger issue with the insurance company should something catastrophic happen.-Mezz
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I can see it now.... Guy with his rake and the thing slides and buries him. Better have some good reaction time.
 
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snobuilder

Well-known member
UMMMM yea, DUH!...you that get 200" a snow a year..... a regular raking to the point you can walk up on yur roof might be a good practice....LOL...not everyone builds to those capacities and older homes need attention.... although how did they get that old at 200" a year?...HMMMM?....LOL
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
carman_65 said:
There sure looks to be a lot of "LOL-ing" going on in this thread.......I'm not sure what's so funny.....
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Ask a question get an answer not sure why anyone would not remove dangerous snowload from roof & I don't care how they do it rake, shovel, blower electric or gas. I know I was not concerned about weight but ice dams can be avoided easily by raking so spent a few hours & problem eliminated. More like horse sense to me...... As far as LOLs no clue just a part of smart living up north.
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
snobuilder said:
UMMMM yea, DUH!...you that get 200" a snow a year..... a regular raking to the point you can walk up on yur roof might be a good practice....LOL...not everyone builds to those capacities and older homes need attention.... although how did they get that old at 200" a year?...HMMMM?....LOL
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WOW! trying to get a valid point across here is a dead-end. Time to move on...-Mezz

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snocrazy said:
I can see it now.... Guy with his rake and the thing slides and buries him. Better have some good reaction time.
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Seriously!? Perhaps you've never used one, if you did, you would know you don't stand in the drop zone.-Mezz
 
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Woodtic

Active member
Clearing a roof isn't rocket science . My Copper County roof on the cabin is rated at 120lb a sqft . The pole building I built is rated at 80lb a sqft,per Houghton County code. If you can't grasp how the snow load thing works,hire someone that does!!
 
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xcr440

Well-known member
mezz said:
WOW! trying to get a valid point across here is a dead-end. Time to move on...-Mezz

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Seriously!? Perhaps you've never used one, if you did, you would know you don't stand in the drop zone.-Mezz
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X2
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
Lots of peeps are having ice dams now.....another bud just got here has a problem & not funny in anyway to hear your friends are having water coming in. I know what can happen without raking others are just finding out the hard way.:(
 
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Grant Hoar

New member
All roof shovelers should carry proper avalanche beacon, probe, etc., in case of snow sliding while on roof. Why wait to go west to use that expensive gear?
 
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