Should You Rake Snow Off Your Roof?

When the snow is heavy or storms have stacked, and you can reach it from the ground, yes. The University of Minnesota Extension lists removing snow from the roof as the immediate step against an ice dam, and the Department of Energy's snow load guide names roof rakes as one way to clear snow from the ground.

What a rake will not fix is weight you cannot reach or a roof already showing strain. If a ceiling sags, the roof creaks or doors stop closing, get people out and call for help instead (warning signs).

OSHA's hazard alert for rooftop snow removal sets out how:

• Stay on the ground. OSHA's first advice is to clear snow without going on the roof, with snow rakes or drag lines from the ground.
• Never from a ladder. OSHA says not to use a snow rake or shovel while on a ladder, because it greatly increases the risk of losing your balance and falling.
• Small amounts at a time, to avoid strain and to avoid being hit or buried by the snow that comes down.
• Look up before you start. OSHA warns of electrocution from power lines; treat every overhead line as live and keep the rake well clear of it.
• Work evenly. Snow removed from one side only can load the rest of the roof unevenly.
• Keep people out of the drop zone, including you, children and pets.

It can. The University of Minnesota Extension says a roof rake or push broom may damage roofing materials. The Department of Energy's guide says to use plastic, not metal, and to leave an inch or two of snow, because scraping the shingles can loosen or break them.

So rake the snow, not the roof: pull down the bulk and leave a thin layer. Never hack at ice with the rake's edge. Ice frozen to the eaves is an ice dam, and steam takes it off without striking the shingles.

When the roof is too high or too steep to reach from the ground, when there is ice rather than snow, when power lines run near the edge, or when the snow is so heavy the roof is showing strain. A two story roof, a dormer or a roof over a porch you would have to stand under all fall into that group.

That is the work roof snow removal is for. Rocket Roofing General Contractor's crews clear snow and ice physically and steam ice dams. How much snow a roof can carry in the first place is in how much snow a roof can hold.

No. OSHA's hazard alert describes people sliding off roof edges, falling through skylights hidden under the snow and falling from ladders, and says falls cause most of the deaths and serious injuries in this work. Its rules for workers who must go up, fall protection, a load check before anyone climbs and a planned way up and down, are rules for trained crews with equipment, not for a weekend with a shovel.

That they are where many snow removal falls start. OSHA's hazard alert says not to use a snow rake or shovel while on a ladder, because reaching and pulling from one greatly increases the risk of losing your balance, and that anyone who must go up should know in advance the route and the method for getting up and down in a way that keeps the risk of falling low.

On frozen ground, against an icy gutter, a ladder has less to hold it than in summer. If the snow cannot be reached from the ground with a rake, that is the point to call a crew.

Small bites, from the side. OSHA describes a snow rake as something like a garden hoe on a long handle and says to remove small amounts at a time, to avoid strain and to avoid being hit or buried by falling snow. Pull from the edge back toward the ridge in short strokes, step out from under what is coming down, and keep children and pets out of the drop zone.

More than it looks. FEMA's figures, quoted by the Department of Energy, put a foot of light, dry snow at about 3 pounds per square foot and a foot of heavy, wet snow at about 21. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety says an inch of ice weighs about as much as a foot of fresh snow. A rake full of wet snow is heavy to pull and heavy to catch, which is another reason for small amounts. The snow load guide has the full table.

OSHA's planning questions for snow removal include how people on the ground will be protected from snow and ice falling off the roof. At a house that means keeping the walk under the eaves clear while you work, and remembering that ice along the edge can let go on its own during a thaw.

Rocket Roofing General Contractor has served Omaha, Papillion and the rest of Nebraska since 2008. We are registered with the Nebraska Department of Labor, NE DOL #98741-26, and we are a GAF Certified Residential Roofing Contractor. Our crews physically clear snow and ice from roofs and steam ice dams. Headquarters: 5634 S 85th Cir Ste 204, Omaha, NE 68127. Call us at (402) 291-8888.