Roof Snow Removal

[Dan Mages]

LOML is getting worried about the amount of snow on our roof combined with the freezing rain that is saturating it. There is maybe 8-10" up there with a few drifts. At what point should we consider having the snow removed? I'd do it myself, but the doctors have me on severely limited activity schedule right now...

Dan

[Rob Wachala Jr]

I would gather it would depend on the condition of your roof. I would not think a solid roof should have a problem with 8-10". If you have some weak beams or damaged plywood then I might be a little concerned.

[Dan Hintz]

Are the trusses 16" OC, or are they 24" OC doubled? If they were doubled with wide centers (or worse, with thin ply above), I might consider having someone trim down the weight if it got any worse, but what you have right now is fine.

You don't have more than one layer of shingles, do you?

[John Coloccia]

I believe the current code specifies a design load of 30lbs/sqFt. I don't know what your house is, but that's how you go about figuring it out. Figure out what the code was when the house was built, and then figure out what the weight of the snow is. If you need to, put the snow on a scale. I had about 3' of light, fluffy stuff on my roof before I had it removed. If it was densely packed like that last round of snow/ice is, I would just weigh some and figure out how much load it was actually exerting.

[Dan Mages]

The house was built in 1952 with 16" OC rafters and plywood sheathing. the roof was completely redone last summer. I'm personally more worried about the ice on the sidewalk right now. No amount of salt will clear up that mess.

[Lee Schierer]

Even though the house was built in 1952, before most building codes for residential, I wouldn't worry about 10" of snow on the roof. If you do try to remove it it is best done from the ground with a long handled snow rake. This prevents damage to cold shingles by walking on them, not to mention the potential of slipping and falling off the roof.

[Prashun Patel]

This is a very hard thing to provide counsel for without seeing and measuring it.

I can tell you that it's mainly a concern on older, flatter roofs.

The other issue on homes with gutters is ice damming. That's where the water has no place to go in the frozen gutter, and goes under the shingles into the sheathing.

If it were me, I'd get an estimate. For a couple hundred $$, it might just be worth the peace of mind. If it's more than you want to/can spend, then yr no worse off...

[David Weaver]

I wouldn't bother with it. We got 22 inches of snow last year, and then another 8 inches of snow shortly after that. I don't know how much stayed on the roof, the wind blew, but it was a lot more than 10 inches in some spots.

If you get that amount of snow off your roof, it's not really doing your roof any good, but if you have a long cold stretch, it may save a gutter. If there is a layer of ice *under* the snow, then the roof will be shielded from people walking around on it. Generally, I'd rather have people on the ground and snow on my roof, esp. if your shingles are older. Foot traffic on a roof for no good reason is unnecessary wear and tear on the shingles.

My house was built in 1958, it's only on its second roof (which will be replaced sometime in the next few years) and no issues with all of that snow last year - no leaks, no nothing.

Keep the ice off the sidewalk definitely, though!

[Marty Paulus]

Considering the house was built in 1952, I am fairly certain it has seen much more then 8-10" in the past. Since you had it re-done recently and there were no issues I wouldn't worry about it.

[Chris Damm]

Our roof is built for a 40# snow load. It takes an awful big drift to exceed that. I don't clean off the roof until it reaches 4' or more.

[Bob Rufener]

I live in Wisconsin and have dealt with this in the past. I would recommend getting a roof rake. The main issue is ice damming. I had a problem with this in the past and it caused some leaking into my house. Typically, roofs are built well enough to handle the snow load and, unless it is a flat roof, snow build up shouldn't be a problem with weight bearing. The snow rake has a long handle and all you really need to remove is the first 3-4 feet from your roof edge. This will help keep ice from forming from your gutters up the roof-getting under the shingles, and causing leaks. I bought one at the local hardware store for around $20 and if we have any appreciable snow, I remove it to be on the safe side. If you are physically incapable, a relative, friend, or neighbor would be a good resource. I am in FL for 2 months and my brother is going to take care of the roof while we are gone. We just had a big storm back home and I sleep better knowing that the roof is ok. photo.jpg

[ray hampton]

I hope that the person in this news story are not a sawmill member
but the news from the northern states reported that a man was
removing snow from his roof when he got bury in the snow except
for his head and and one hand---his neighbor heard him crying out
for help and call the local police/the snow were 5 or 6 feet deep
around the surprised man

[Tim Morton]

I hope that the person in this news story are not a sawmill member
but the news from the northern states reported that a man was
removing snow from his roof when he got bury in the snow except
for his head and and one hand---his neighbor heard him crying out
for help and call the local police/the snow were 5 or 6 feet deep
around the surprised man

that was right here in vermont....i pointed it out to my wife when she asked if we should be raking our roof :-)
http://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_17296992

[Ron Conlon]

LOML is getting worried about the amount of snow on our roof combined with the freezing rain that is saturating it. Dan

I'll attack this question from a different perspective. Having fielded many questions from my personal LOML along the lines of "is it safe/are you sure that won't catch on fire/maim the kids/etc", I used to try give a definitive yes/no answer. This is generally what she was looking for, and she would sleep soundly that night, while I would be unable to sleep and was up at 2am checking to make sure those oily rags really hadn't caught on fire/raccoon hadn't tipped over the electrolysis bucket/dog was not investigating mousetraps/etc.
My new approach is to supply the facts and get her input. "Well, there have been 90 roof collapses in Massachusetts this winter out of 2.7 million homes. That equates to a .003% chance that ours might collapse. Getting a new roof built would be $20,000. Getting the roof cleared would cost $200. What do YOU think we should do honey?"
I can't say I'm exactly proud of this "spread the blame" technique I've picked up as a 20 year veteran of being a corporate shlub, but I sleep a lot better at night. Because to me, the hidden cost of being wrong is not the new $20,000 roof, it is the number of times I'll hear "remember the time you said the roof was safe?"

[Darcy Forman]

I wouldn'y worry about 8 to 10 inches. My roof is truss rafters 16" centers and 7/16" sheeting. Earlier this winter, before a chinook we had 5' on the south side (drifted snow) and an average of three to four feet everywhere else. If we had gotten another couple of feet I would have started to think about cleaning it off. This is very typical snow fall for our area and almost no one shovels off roofs.