I can’t say from experience, as I haven’t tried it, but that looks like a really bad idea for an asphalt shingle roof, like mine.
I just had a new roof put on late last year, and some of the shingles aren’t lying flat quite yet. The roofer says they will flatten out in time, especially in the next hot summer. But a rake like that is likely to catch under a shingle and rip it right off. Then you have a greater problem than just a pile of snow; you’ve got a leaky roof in the winter.
Besides, on a shingle roof, any scraping risks serious damage to the composition. Asphalt shingles were not designed to resist abrasive scraping. If you must do that, get a metal roof or some other kind that’s compatible with that kind of action.
I rarely have a “too much snow” problem, and have never seen the need (for me, at least) to remove snow myself, with one exception. That was a particular winter when the temps rose and fell in just the right sequence to create an ice damn near the edge of an almost-flat part of the roof, over a bay window. That could have been solved by placing a heater wire under the edge of the roof, and I might install one sometime just in case.
It doesn’t scrape the shingles. That’s the point of the wheels. The bar across the bottom is an inch or so above the shingles. I haven’t seen it in action, but the coworker is quite happy with it, and has asphalt shingles.
I noticed the wheels and the slight clearance they give. But it would be hard to tell if a little resistance you felt was from ice or shingles, and some of my shingles might be non-flat enough to be in harm’s way. With the snow hiding the roof surface, you couldn’t tell until too late, right? Considering the damage it could cause and the risks, I would strongly advise against the use of this gadget.
Besides, the idea of scraping across asphalt shingles (as in the OP) seems stupid. They are not designed to accept that kind of abuse. Before I replaced my roof, pieces of the old shingles were flying off in the wind and walking across them caused a rain of particles below.
Ice damming is a bitch and can really cause problems with water intrusion, damaging your roof, floors, carpets, walls, etc. Have you had eave vents installed and blown in insulation? What about ice shield (3-6 feet starting at the eave) under your shingles? These are the only measures that can mitigate ice damming, other than heat tape (which isn’t that effective IME, other than for keeping giant icicles from forming).
It’s not; it’s what you’d expect indoors to be. Room temperature, in other words.
But stores typically don’t have a place to put your coat, so you wear it while you shop. And, when you’re wearing a heavy winter coat indoors, you get hot.
If you look at the video or other info on the site, it shows that the rake actually has wheels on the outside edges. I assume these wheels lift the blade up when it encounters the edge of the next asphalt shingle.
Precisely. I was just about to say, “Getcherself a metal roof.” That’s what we did. Spendy, but worth it. No more ice dams, and fun mini-avalanches that scare the cats as the snow slides off. Good times!
I saw that, but the wheels on the outside edges (of the device) won’t help a shingle that’s warped in the middle. Pushing against that could rip it right off, and you wouldn’t know it until the snow fell down and uncovered the damage.
It’s usually a problem when there are valleys in the roof design. Ice builds up in the valleys and forces it’s way under the flashing. First thaw: flood!
I’m sure glad its warming up here and it never snows. It was cold, really cold the last two weeks, I think daytime temps got down to the 50’s. Now the last couple of days its been past 80, perfect January weather!
Maybe, but it’s a moot point, and my roofer says they are fine. In 40 years, I haven’t had to remove snow from my roof, so I don’t plan on starting now.
No valleys, just a simple peaked roof, albeit a very shallow pitch. According to the landlord’s maintenance dude it was due to degrading rubber washers on the screws holding the roof down. Must not have been an isolated incident as they redid the roofs of two large multi-tenant industrial buildings the next summer.
