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In winter, in regions where there is a large amount of precipitation, the issue of cleaning the roofs of buildings from snow is acute. A large accumulation threatens an avalanche, from which people may suffer. A hand tool helps to get rid of the snow cover. There are many different scrapers and prefabricated shovels. Many craftsmen have learned to make devices for removing snow from the roof on their own. Now we will make a review of snow removal equipment, which in winter will help solve this problem.
Snow shovels
With the arrival of the first snowfall, each owner of his yard goes outside with a shovel to clean the paths. There are many variations of this popular instrument. Shovels are sold in different sizes:
- The most comfortable and lightest snowplow models are made of plastic. The disadvantage of such shovels is increased fragility in the cold, or they simply break under heavy loads.
- Metal shovels are quite strong, but heavy. Wet snow will constantly stick to the scoop. But most importantly, a steel tool can damage the roofing.
- Wooden shovels are more gentle on roofing. However, the service life of such a tool is not long.
- Aluminum shovels are lightweight, durable and corrosion resistant. Some owners do not like them because of the rumble that is created during the removal of snow from the roof.
The advantage of using shovels when cleaning the roof from snow is the availability and versatility of hand tools: the owner went out into the yard – cleared the paths, climbed onto the roof – freed the roof from snow. There is a shovel in every yard. In extreme cases, this tool for little money can be bought at the nearest store.
The disadvantage of using shovels is heavy physical labor. On a roof with a soft roof, the snow must be cleaned carefully, otherwise there is a risk of damage to the coating.
Modern snow shovel powered by electricity
An electric tool will help you quickly deal with snow accumulation on the roof. It is produced in the form of a small shredder with a long handle or a compact but more bulky machine. Both power tools are commonly used to clean flat roofs. You can try to drag the shredder onto a pitched roof with a slight slope, but such work is dangerous. It is advisable to use an electric snow blower in the private sector to clean snow that has fallen from the roof near the building. Utilities work with such equipment on the flat roof of high-rise buildings.
The advantage of electrical technology lies in the ability to quickly clean the roof from any thickness of snow cover. Working with a shredder or machine is much easier than throwing snow with a conventional shovel.
The main disadvantage is the inability to use an electric shovel on a pitched roof. The device of any such equipment requires the presence of an electric motor, which has an impressive weight. Pulling a shredder or a car onto the roof is quite problematic. In addition, you will have to take care of a long cable. The wire must be constantly monitored so that it does not fall under the knives of the working mechanism.
Despite all the shortcomings, electric shovels are the ideal tool for cleaning large flat roofs. A snowplow with a screw knife easily cuts off a layer of snow with an icy crust and throws it far to the side through the outlet sleeve.
A scraper is a great tool for clearing snow off pitched roofs.
It is impossible to clean a pitched roof from snow with an electric tool, and it is dangerous with an ordinary shovel. Slippery slopes are easy to fall off. Cleaning a pitched roof is best done from the ground. For this work, there is a special tool – a scraper. Its design resembles a reduced-sized scraper.
The basis of the scraper is a long handle that allows you to get from the ground to the very ridge of the roof. The design of the scraper itself can have a different configuration, but usually it consists of an arc with a bridge. This frame is attached to the handle. A long strip of elastic non-wetting material is fixed on the jumper. During operation, a person pushes the scraper up the roof slope with the handle. The lower jumper of the frame cuts the layer of snow, and it slides down the elastic strip to the ground. Width and depth of capture depends on the dimensions of the scraper.
The advantages of working as a scraper are obvious. The lightweight tool allows you to effortlessly clean a large pitched roof without climbing up on it. By extending the handle, you can get from the ground to the highest point of the roof. Snow slides down an elastic strip under the wall of the house and it is unlikely that it will fall on the head of a working person.
The disadvantage of the tool can be called its limited use. In addition to cleaning the pitched roof from snow, the scraper cannot be used anywhere else.
The video shows how the roof is cleared of snow:
Self-made shovel
The snow shovel is very simple. Such a tool can be assembled in a couple of hours from the material available at home.
The most common is a plywood tool. The scoop is made in the following order:
- Take a piece of plywood. A 40×40 or 45×45 cm square is cut out of it with a jigsaw.
- A board 10 cm wide and 2 cm thick is nailed to one side of the plywood. This will be the back side of the scoop. From below, the board can be rounded with a planer. Then the scoop will turn out to be curved, as shown in the diagram. A small indentation is cut out in the center of the side, which forms a seat for the handle.
- The plywood end of the scoop front is sheathed with a bent galvanized strip. Similar strips can be used to strengthen the back side.
A metal scoop is made according to a different principle. Usually aluminum sheet or galvanized is used for manufacturing:
- A square is similarly cut out of the selected metal sheet. Here you need to take into account the dimensions of the working canvas itself, plus bends for the sides.
- The back element of the scoop can be cut out of the board, as was done for the plywood counterpart. It’s easier to just bend all the sides out of metal. Then a hole for the handle is cut in the center of the back element.
After any design of the scoop is ready, proceed to fix the handle. The handle can be bought new or removed from another shovel. One of its ends is cut at an angle so that its end fits snugly against the plane of the scoop strictly in the center. In this case, the handle itself should touch the seat on the rear side. The end of the handle to the working plane of the scoop is fixed with a self-tapping screw, plus it is reinforced with a sheet of tin. If the back side was curved from metal, then the handle is simply inserted through a drilled hole. The handle is fixed to the wooden board with an overlay made of steel strip.
Homemade snow plows are exclusive. They can have the most unusual design. The main thing is that the tool does not pose a danger to the working person and the roofing itself.