Are you climbing on your roof or using a roof rake? How much do you weigh? It's supposed to be mid forties in a couple of days. I don't recommend climbing on your roof to shovel.

When I was growing up, there was a house next door to my grandparents with a completely flat roof. The people who lived there didn’t stay for the winter. I sometimes wonder if they ever came back to unexpected disasters. That house was torn down in favor of one with normal sloped roofing, so I have to assume something prompted that decision.

If you really have have 25" already I'd consider doing it, especially if the pitch is flat.

[deleted]

growing up in MA I saw a few roof collapses. Almost all on garages or screened porches.

If it's a pretty small section you're worried about, and you feel like you can get at it safely, I'd go for it.

[deleted]

Can you get a roof rake for the flatter section? We're supposed to get a bunch of rain on Thursday.

Even if you can't get the whole thing, you should 100% roof rake what you can reach. Your roof will most likely support the weight of whatever we get here in the next few days but IMO with the rain on top of all that snow, Ice Dams are a bigger concern

Just reach up to knock away a foot of snow at the bottom of the roof. That will encourage the other slabs to slide off and help prevent ice dams.

I’d go out and roof rake just a 1-2 foot border for every storm with over 6” of snow if you normally have a fair amount of icicles. That should keep the ice-dam at the roof-edge to a minimum.

Edit: now if we end up with like… 6 ft of snow on the roof, that might warrant more clearing 😅

I started my garage and sunroom last night before taking the driveway/sidewalk on. Rather start now even if it’s in small steps. I’ll probably take care of the rest Sunday morning

Porch and garage roofs collapse for two reasons; because they tend to be flatter plus they do not have heated living space underneath to help melt the snow

[deleted]

> Edit: now if we end up with like… 6 ft of snow on the roof, that might warrant more clearing

"Hey how come all the doors in the house won't close all the way all of a sudden?"

Watch out for power lines!

[deleted]

If close, we have purchased our roof rakes from the OceanState JobLots.

Yea, I just came off a roof, it's tricky getting on and off the ladder right now, and there is a layer of ice over the shingles

edit: This depends where you are obviously

you can get a lot of snow off the roof by tying a length of paracord around a full water bottle and throwing it over the roof, then pulling the cord to the side. Not nearly as good as a roof rake but it's a lot safer than climbing up there.

When ice is an issue for the roof, I toss up handfuls of rock salt just above the gutters. Trick I learned from Pepe. Has never failed me.

Do it now while it light and fluffy because it it rains, it’ll soak up water and become dangerously heavy. No amount of fluffy snow should be allowed to stay. Next time it snows, it could be light and fluffy but you might be too busy to take it off, then if it rains, you’re in trouble.

This works well as long as you're not particularly attached to having plant life near the gutter drains.

roof raking is really not that bad imo.

you're not actually trying to scrape the roof clean, you're just dislodging some weight. it's fine to do a halfassed job. the position is a lot more comfortable for your back too.

waaay better than shoveling even if it's a pain in the ass to get the roof rake out.

I would also guess that those types of structures aren't necessarily built with the same level of care or maintained as well as the main house.

Why have I never thought of throwing salt up there? Brilliant!

I don't go crazy with it, just enough to prevent ice dams or to poke holes in the ice dams to prevent water buildup (which adds weight to the roof or sometimes freezes) behind the ice dams.

PSA: Don’t forget this is also the season when front porch roofs get ripped off of houses.

Its your roof and its a free country

I have a metal roof. I only have to remove about 3 feet from the edge. The sun hits it and keeps it clean

If I don't then ice will form. When I moved into my home I didn't realize this. I had 4 inches of thick ice hanging off the roof. It was about 6 feet long and curled under. I could not knock out off or even put a dent in it. When it came down it crushed my metal bulkhead. Ice went into the basement. Three grown men could jump up and down on the bulkhead and not even put a dent in it. The ice destroyed it. If a person was under that ice when it let go he would be dead

If you get ice dams in inaccessible places consider salt grenades made with scrap pantyhose or old socks. Chuck above ice dam, salt melts out onto the dam. Slingshot helps.

what does this mean?

the steeper the pitch, the better off you are. definitely rake the eves as far up as you can reach. i have a ranch and i try to keep at least the lower half of the roof cleared.

I …. have never heard of these before. i find the concept fascinating.

Hardware stores only order a small number, and when they run out, they're out. If you're on the fence, get one, and stash it away.

When people add porches on they don't want to block the view from the second floor, nor the one from the first. So they need flat-ish roofs.

This probably isn't as effective but it might make you feel better.

Snow build up on porch roofs will rip them off the house. Not built to take the same loads as the main roof.

i was legitimately curious as i see his idea as being usefull for a couple of things

I stuff a corner of the sock/pantyhose/cheesecloth grenade into the top of one of the pole sections of my roof rake and flip it from the rake directly onto the roof. Takes a little practice but it's slick once you get the hang of it. I'm too short to just toss it up there under my own power.

Ice dams happen with leaky roofs right? I used to roof rake until i had my attic insulated. I don't need to now except on tha back I have a flat section off the back of my house. I've been raking that. It's not the snow I'm worried about but its like you said. Snow and then rain.

I kind of think of roof raking to be important for low pitches or uninsulated attics. If you a have buttoned up attic and a normal pitched roof then I don't think you need to do anything.

If you have icicles, you should roof rake

I have a porch like that and I rake the snow off. I dunno if i need to but it makes me feel better.

Agreed I do it for a flat section of my roof and it's kind of satisfying to watch all that snow tumble off.

EVAH