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Heavy snowfalls are increasingly causing roof collapses. Fragile structures, due to their dilapidation or mistakes made during construction, cannot withstand the pressure of heavy snow caps. The only way to prevent collapse is to keep your roof clean. At the same time, there is no need to climb the roof, risking your health, because there are a lot of different devices that allow you to reach the highest point of the ridge, standing confidently on the ground. It is about such devices that will be discussed in the following article.
What threatens the snow on the roof
Throughout the winter, the thickness of the snow cover on the roof only increases. Its weight can reach several tons. Regular alternation of thawing and freezing provokes the formation of frost. Huge blocks of snow and ice move as they grow, and can damage the roofing material, the outlets of the ventilation pipes, rip off the fasteners, and drains. Spontaneous snow falling from the roof can cause a disaster.
The period of autumn snowmelt is also a test for the roof. Heavy, swollen snow slowly turns into water and flows into even the most secluded cracks on the roof. As a result, the rafter part gets wet, the putrefactive process begins. Under such conditions, even a small amount of liquid can cause significant damage.
The above arguments are a good reason for every owner of a private house to take care of cleaning the roof from snow. After all, even a high-quality, new roof under the influence of snow cover can suffer. In such a situation, it is not at all necessary to talk about the old buildings of the housing complex.
It is worth noting that many new buildings are equipped with a system of special snow retainers that prevent spontaneous snowfall. Indeed, the presence of such devices gives a certain effect and does not allow heavy masses to actively move, but this does not mean at all that you can refuse to clean the roofs, because there is still a threat of serious damage. The same applies to the cable heating system of drainage systems. They do not allow snow and ice to accumulate around the perimeter of the roof, but the main area of the roof will still be subject to snow pressure.
Roof cleaners
There are a huge number of universal and special devices for cleaning the roof. For this purpose, homeowners use both ordinary shovels and special paper clips. Before using this or that tool, you need to remember some important points:
- On the flat roofs of multi-storey and private houses, you can use any inventory. Both conventional shovels and electric snow blowers will fit. Working on a horizontal surface is quite easy.
- It is not safe to be and move on pitched roofs in winter, so it is recommended to use special scrapers mounted on a telescopic handle. They allow, standing on the ground, to clean the snow even from the roof of the attic floor.
- In the absence of a special scraper, you can clean the pitched roof with a shovel with the same telescopic handle. In this case, you will have to climb the roof, but you can carry out actions from one point without moving along the pitched roof.
- You can remove snow from the roof with home-made devices, the device and technology for which we will offer below.
Each type of proposed inventory has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages that you need to know about.
Features of the use of conventional shovels
A shovel for removing snow from the roof should be as light and comfortable as possible, and its bucket should be roomy. For cleaning roofs, wooden, metal and plastic shovels are used. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages:
- Metal shovels are quite heavy and bulky. When working on the roof, they emit a characteristic sound, which is also heard indoors. Reliable metal can damage some elements of the roof.
- Wooden shovels are heavy and bulky, but they are not capable of damaging the roof surface. At a relatively low cost, wooden shovels are also characterized by a short period of use.
- Plastic shovels are very light and comfortable, but, unfortunately, low-quality plastic quickly wears out and breaks under the influence of low temperatures. A reliable tool is quite expensive and it is not rational to buy it especially for cleaning the roof.
It is ordinary shovels that are most often used for cleaning snow in private buildings, because every owner has such equipment. And even if you have to buy a shovel, it will come in handy not only for cleaning the roof, but also for cleaning walkways and playgrounds.
Important features of cuttings
A shovel made of any material can be equipped with a good handle, which will greatly facilitate the process of removing snow from the roof. Of course, the ideal option in this case is a telescopic stalk that can extend several meters. But even when using a conventional handle, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- The handle should be as reliable and light as possible. It is preferable to choose a handle made of aluminum or high quality plastic.
- Wooden cuttings are very heavy and smooth. They can easily slip out of the hands of a working person.
- On plastic, wooden and metal handles, it is necessary to provide for the presence of a special rubberized layer that will not allow the shovel to slip out of your hands.
To get a comfortable long-handled shovel, there is no need to buy expensive, branded equipment, because it will be much cheaper to buy a telescopic device separately and install a modern handle on an existing shovel.
Special scrapers for roof cleaning
All specialized roof scrapers have approximately the same equipment. They consist of a scraper and a telescopic handle. In some models, the telescopic handle is replaced by a special aluminum tube, from 3-4 rods. The length of each of these rods can be 1,2-1,5 m. The scraper itself is made of high-quality plastic that can withstand temperatures up to -400C. The dimensions of the work surface for each particular model may be special. It is important to note that the scraper does not have a flat plane and is located at a slight angle. Special skids on the working surface do not allow damage to the roof during operation.
Such special scrapers for cleaning roofs are quite light. Their weight, as a rule, does not exceed 3 kg.
Some manufacturers make the roof scraper a little differently, replacing the plastic scraper with a metal stripper. It is a contour fixed on a telescopic handle. During operation, this equipment cuts off part of the snow, which rolls down a sliding belt fixed at the bottom of the structure. The work of such a scraper can be seen in the video:
How to make a DIY roof scraper
To once again affect the family budget, you can make a roof scraper yourself. To do this, you need a wire with a diameter of 10 mm or more. From it it is necessary to bend a rectangular frame. When bending, it is necessary to provide for the fact that the ends of the wire must converge in the middle of the wide side of the frame.
As a handle for a scraper, you can use a telescopic handle or an aluminum profile. It is preferable to make a homemade handle from several parts so that you can build up and remove a certain number of knees if necessary.
A long piece of sliding film should be hung on the underside of the frame. On the upper part of the contour, fix the handle, which will connect the free ends of the wire. In such a simple way, you can make a reliable and practical scraper for cleaning snow from roofs at home.
It turns out that cleaning the roof in winter is very simple. To do this, there is no need to flatter to a height and risk your health, because you can buy or make yourself a long-handled scraper that will reach the highest point of the roof ridge and remove the entire thickness of heavy snow. If you do not clean the roof on time, you can expose your family and friends to danger, spoil the roof or elements of ventilation and drainage. One huge block of snow with frost can cause significant damage to the building itself and the people living in it. Agree, such serious risks in this situation are unjustified.