a couple of days ago:
Hi Ed,
Roof snow question: Why remove snow
from only the first 4-6 feet of roof?
Why not remove the snow all the way
up to the ridge?
Bob
Hi Bob,
I think I made an error of emphasis
in my original article on snow raking:
How to
Rake Snow Off Your Roof
In the original article, I emphasized
raking snow off the roof to prevent the
roof from collapsing. For me, this has
been of primary concern as the pitch on
our roof is too gradual for the State of
Maine. Our house was built in the 1950s
and there was a trend in our neighborhood,
at the time, of building houses to
specifications that would work well in the
deep south. Maine is not the deep south.
My error of emphasis was emphasizing roof
collapse rather than ice dams.
For most people, the primary concern is
ice dams. We've had this problem too.
I'm in the house I grew up in and my father
found it very disturbing when ice would
start pouring down the inside of our
picture windows in late February on a warm
day.
The answer to your question is that people
rake the eaves of the roof, plus a little
bit more, if they are concerned primarily
with ice dams. However, if the concern is
a collapsed roof, the tendency may be to
get more weight off the roof by raking
a little further than this.
Either way is probably sufficient. Most
roofs do not collapse. Taking even a
little bit of snow off the roof can make
a big difference and stop a roof from
collapsing.
However, each situation is a little bit
different. Some people prefer the additional
assurance of taking all the snow off.
I try to avoid taking all the snow off as
doing this tends to damage the shingles.
Since we do not currently have a problem
with ice dams, I have the luxury of leaving
a layer of snow on the roof. Not everyone
does.
I suppose it all comes down to knowing
yourself and knowing your situation. You
can't necessarily do things the way someone
else would because your situation may be
entirely different than their situation.
Ed Abbott
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