Roof Raking
 

Time for the next great debate here on Winni.com

Roof raking... Yes or No ?

I have an unheated seasonal room... should I roof rake it? Lots of snow.. but no heat in the room. (Bet you can see the side of the disagreement I'm on..:) )

I do rake off the rest of the house... but think the unheated parts.. Garage and sunroom, are unraked..

I have agreed to live with the decision made here by you folks.... Sorta the candidates this weekend.. I need your vote.. :):):):)

unheated?
 

leave it alone if the concern is icedams - if there is worry about roof loading (undersized rafters, flat roof, etc), then remove the snow. A couple of feet of wet snow is very heavy.

Concurrence with TOMC:

If roofing material is "shingles" and the such, than danger of ice dams perpetrating water seepage, and causing water damage... seen and unseen, could be cause for concern. If there is no danger of "water" from snow melting due to heat seeping through roof, then no water; presumption being that water will not infiltrate or migrate from some other part of roof.

Might consider roof heating cables in those areas that might be of concern; trade-off of roof raking vs. heat cable providing path for water run-off. Initial cost of cables is nominal, and use of electricity for time spent to melt a path is viable consideration!


RE snow loads:
If no worry about snow load, then no worry!

Sorry Steve, but since I just finished doing my unheated parts I think you should too!

I would rake it...what the heck...only takes a couple minutes to do one room. Even an unheated room can build ice dams, especially if it's a flatish roof, or if the room grows radiant heat from window sun exposure. Plus, it's just the four feet closest to to edge, on the eaves, that need raking, unless the weight is a concern.

Have you ever had ice dam problems? Have you ever had other issues with the roof? The main part of our home here in Rochester is a pitched roof....fairly steep....and we do not rake it. The shingles are black and a good sunny day starts the melting process. No gutters on the house. Additions have a flat roof...rubber roof....and heavy wet snow of a significant amount we do rake. We had a new roof put on this summer. Main part of the house is 100 or so years old. Discussed this with the roofer and he said, in general, if your house and roof structure is more than 75 years old his experience is that it is usually solid, assuming the timbers are in good shape. The flat roof, he said, is solid as well, but his rule of thumb is if there is more than 2 feet of wet snow on the roof (Y3+) then raking is a good idea. Now, our chalet in Maine has a metal roof. No need to rake. In fact raking can be hazardous to your health in that you never know when the snow will cut loose with a force strong enough to wipe out the lattice on the deck railing. My suggestion: Come spring, if you have a friendly roofer you trust, have him check over the structure (assuming you have an attic). It'll be worth a cold-one or two for the peace of mind.

Thanks WG
 

I did "some" of the unheated parts.. the ones I didn't have to go out "on the roof" to get at! God blessed roof rakes with long handles! :)

RopeTow
 

Yes... prior to our re-roofing about 6 years ago we had water damage from Ice Damns (no that's not a spelling error :))

When the new roof went on, the installer suggested we run the water proof barrier over the entire roof. Seems to have worked. (so far) We also have a very steep pitch on most of the house.. and I do try to rake back on the flatter roof sections. :(

Thoughts on roof raking
 

While I understand the concerns over wieght and ice dams I have never really scene any hug crediable evidence either way on cleaning off a roof. I have actually read many, articles saying if you have asphalt singles it is one of the worst things you can do. I have personally never lived anywhere, where it was at all practical to shovel the roof. The danager of getting to the roof, was always a worse thought then a cave in..... Think of all the summer camps, and island camps that no one checks on..... they survive.....

Now am I say there is no need of course not...... what it comes down to is personal comfort. Do what make you comfortable..... But be careful....I don;t want the next thread to be "unforseen dangers of roof raking"

Last having seen a lot of roof project lately and talking to many people about them, just make sure that the proper ice and water shields are laid down under the shingles. Or if your really concerned with Ice and snow build up, go Metal...... A little exposed metal, a nice warm and sunny day..... Avalance city here we come...... it works well on both shallow and steeped pitched roofs...... Although expensive, I do see benefits to metal roofs, after having front row seats, watching my Landlords shop and house unload there snowy coating, from the detached above garage apartment I was living in.

Our roofer urged extensive use of ice and water shield this past summer. A bit pricy but hopefully worth every penny. Metal roofs are great, but.... Our chalet has the main entrance under the sloped-edge of the roof. When the roof was covered in asphalt shingles avalanches were never an issue. But now with a metal roof....disaster city. An 8-foot deep deck runs along that side (front) of the house with the front entrance in the middle. The snow avalanches wiped out the deck rail lattice work the first year. They can also actually block the front door. If we were going to keep the house long-term we'd make some kind of roof modification, though we were told that doing so would void the warranty on the metal roof.

When my mother had both the camp and the family home roofs done after my father died, The recomendation of all the roofers I talked with was the ICE and Water Shield, up 6 feet, 9 of course would be even better..... In short this seems to be something recomended and done by many.

Have roof rake - will travel!
 

:banana:Anyone needing to hire an ace roof raker can get ahold of me by taping a note to the French Vanilla freebie coffee pot at E M Heath's in Center Harbor.

As a member of the waterfront poor, I need all the work I can get and am available for $5.15/hour. Liability insurance & worker's comp - no way, no way! Steep, steep pitches and power lines nearby, are not a problem!

Also, will spend hours delicately removing snow from walkways and shrubs, all very carefully, with a small wisk broom for the same low $5.15/hour rate. ... and no minimum....have roof rake - will travel.....and.....have whisk - will broom!!

I bet you had no idea that $5.15 is the NH minimum wage until it goes up to 6.50 on Sept 1. No kidding...5.15/hour...imagine that! Thankyou very much NH Democrats for finally after ten years giving me a raise....hey, raking roofs is hard work! If the NH Republicans had their way, the rate would be stuck at 5.15 because an increase would be bad for business.

Go figure....the NH Republiicans sound just like Concord NH's President Franklin Pierce who said, in 1855, that he could not oppose slavery because it would be bad for business.

So, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

But if you don't actually go out on the roof how can you truly appreciate the wonderful feeling you get when you slip on ice up there and start heading for the edge? :eek:

I roof rake the roof of heated areas to prevent ice dams and non-heated areas to prvide cave-ins (as many other people have said).

Even with roof raking religiously, I had an area where differeing roof pitches met...an area that's also located under a dormer. Sure enough ice built up and we developed a leak. I noticed it quickly and spent the next 5 hours chopping roof ice.

Once this warm weather clears off that section of the roof, I'm going with the heated cords just in that area. This is a 204 year old house with a 17 year old asphalt shingled roof. Will probably drop the big bucks for a metal roof in 4 or 5 years.

We have a 3-season sunroom but since it sits on the west-end of the house, it gets down-right warm in there when the sun hits that glass for a few hours. We use it year-round. It might as well be heated.

I use one of those long-handled roof rakes to take the snow off. Ditto for the decks and other structures that have weight on them from the snow. One gallon of water weighs [~18lbs] ~ 8 lbs - taking that weight off - melts or not - will prolong the life of the structure.

And it's a good way to burn off all those Christmas cookies you ate! :D

Not to nitpick, but the weight of a gallon of water is ~8 lbs (8.3), not 18.

I have lived in my house for 11 winters. Not once have I shoveled or raked snow off the roof. I am knocking on wood as I type this, I have never had a leak. In fact, if the roof caves in from the weight of the snow, I wouldn't be all that upset...as long as I am not there when it happens. ;)

:o

You are correct - you're not nitpicking at all! I had a brain fart...(I knew it was 8... dunno why I typed "18"....) :confused:

Alton's on the south side of the lake...
 

...so the snow is heavier on the "downhill" side of the lake than on the "uphill" side :laugh:.

You don't really have to wait if it's a problem now.I have laid heat cord right on top of the problem areas.They will melt their way through to get you out of trouble.

You won't regret it , Siksukr.The snow just slides right off....no more shoveling or ice dams. I would definately recommend the "standing seam"type roofing.There are no visable skrews or nails and they look and last much better.I've had both. Good luck

I was thinking of putting heater cords but don't know to much about them. Are there different types of heated cords,etc. Is any one better than another. Do they make some that just sits in the gutter and downspout. How much does this add in cost for the electricity. Is any one of the heated cords better at cost than another.

Thanks

Dave M

Sometimes I rake the roof at home sometimes I don't. Problem is when I do it, it all falls off the roof onto the shrubs and ruins them!:eek:

I always said crushed shrubs is better than roof leaks.:D

I bought a 30 foot length the other day. The directions make these things sound like a real PITA. They don't suggest using extension cords but only give you 10 feet of non-heated cord. They say not to put them on existing ice. They say they can only be operated during melting (outside temp range of 15 to 35 degrees or something like that). Would you say the directions are being overly cautious?

In general,most roofs designed and and built in NH are built for substantial snowloads.Flatter pitched roofs should have larger dimensional framing to support more of a load.For the most part you should rarely have to shovel most roofs to protect from overload.More likely roofs edges get raked to try to prevent ice damming.If you have heat cord installed higher up past the overhang of your roof,ice dams are really not a problem because the cord melts a path for the water to escape.Having said all this,I raked my roof right before the X-mas rain worried about the extra load from 2 ft of snow sponging up all that water load.So to each his own.