Shoveling roof -- DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

[JB4310]

It's not that easy. If you get a little rain or wet snow on the roof, it freezes on and as you can see, just keeps accumulating until a warm spell. This is doubly bad because the dormer behind the porch is steeper pitch so unloads quicker than the lower one. As far as getting behind and pushing, no way and when it decides to come, it's all at once so you'd end up on top of the pile.

I was wondering about mounting the cables on the underside of the roof and insulating them in. The problem is that the roof has 1" boards and a layer of shingles on them and hose cables aren't cheap to try something you're not sure will work.
Also thought about carefully placing an electric heater or infra red bulbs up there and temporarily insulating it in and watch it closely when I tried it, but don't know if the bulbs could ignite the boards or not. Lastly have thought about removing about 3 sheets over the walkway and put the cables directly on the old roof between the purlins. Got to study it out more.

I doubt the cables would work through the wood deck unless you left them on all the time.

I know all about snow unloading from upper roof on to lower, was working on a customers house yesterday, clearing lower roof, we saw ice and snow on upper but thought it's was staying put after a little banging on it.
Well right after getting the lower roof clear we were banging the lower ice dam and the upper one came down about 2 feet awy from me, not alot of snow but a 150 pound chunk of ice, would of put my lights out.

When we were finished clearing the lower roof there was enough of a pile of snow that I didn't need the ladder to get down, just stepped off onto the pile!

JB.

 

[beenthere]

JB
There is one good reason to not have those eves troughs on that upper level.

That chunk of ice prolly didn't do the lower roof any good either. :confused3:

 

[20 20]

Smiley; I agree this year stinks as far as letting snow off the metal roofs. Your idea is less dangerous then climbing up there. My only concern would be an equipment malfunction, blown hydro line or such.

 

[smiley]

Smiley; I agree this year stinks as far as letting snow off the metal roofs. Your idea is less dangerous then climbing up there. My only concern would be an equipment malfunction, blown hydro line or such.

If I thought this would be a regular thing, I'd fasten some conveyor belt to a 6 ft 2x4 and U bolt it to the teeth. I have grader blade set up like that for landscaping.

JB4310,
I may have had a brain fart this afternoon. After standing on the porch looking at the situation, trying to figure a way to blow heat up in there safely, I walked in the house and went to hang my coat in the back room where my wife was drying clothes, and heard the dryer running. A EUREKA moment!!! All that hot air blowing outside was just what I need.
It looks like I could mount the heater part of a dryer in the rafters, bore holes with a holesaw from the bottom, through the roof boards, and a hose to them through a plenum and the heat should follow the corrugations all the way up roof.
Now I've got to start looking for a junk dryer to take apart and see if it's practical.

 

[KubotainNH]

Gee, I just got a new dryer today and they took the old one away Interesting idea though. My question is how often do you really have this problem? This year is one for the books.

 

[smiley]

Gee, I just got a new dryer today and they took the old one away Interesting idea though. My question is how often do you really have this problem? This year is one for the books.

Usually i don't have it at all because I'm in Fla. but it was almost as cold down there this year as up here and it's not worth going down for only 5 or 6 weeks. Generally we'll get a few days above freezing when it can slide off but not this year. The only other time it bothers is if we get a huge dump of snow, then I get nervous walking under it. I have raked it in the past but not with these ice layers this year.

 

[Rio_Grande]

I am not criticising and ideed respect your ability. This reminds of what I do at work. If it works you are the man, if u fail you are the biggest idiot on the payrole.

Good work,, I wouldnt try it but it obvously worked for you..



On a side note My dad used to put a big heater in the attic and durring the day there was always a little stream of watter coming off the roof in places. The roof was at such a steep pitch you couldnt get on it without jacks in the summer let alone the winter. That wouldnt work in my house, too much insulation.

 

[JB4310]

This is the way to do it.:thumbsup:

You could make some money with that thing around here, I was gonna brag about how big and high my snow piles are this year, But man, no one is gonna beat yours

JB
There is one good reason to not have those eves troughs on that upper level.

That chunk of ice prolly didn't do the lower roof any good either. :confused3:

Yeah Gutters are really taking a beating this winter, I've seen them hanging off many houses. Those in the pic are copper, expensive. Every year we have straighten them out and can usually save them, probably be replacing alot of them this year.

It looks like I could mount the heater part of a dryer in the rafters, bore holes with a holesaw from the bottom, through the roof boards, and a hose to them through a plenum and the heat should follow the corrugations all the way up roof.
Now I've got to start looking for a junk dryer to take apart and see if it's practical.

Any amount of heat you put to the bottom of that metal and the snow/ice should release pretty quickly. Just don't burn the house down

JB.

 

[tulenutn2o]

Metal roofs around here get snow guards or curbs to prevent huge slides.

 

[smiley]

Metal roofs around here get snow guards or curbs to prevent huge slides.

I didn't want the snow guards as that would cause even more snow to pile up on the porch roof which is built to take a lot of weight, but there is a limit. Also the snow would block the view of the mountains from the dormer windows and when it started melting could back through the dormer into the house.