I am an Australian and have never seen snow in my life.When our temps are hovering at 117F plus,this type of video is not only very interesting but it does seem to make me feel cooler.it's obvious now why you guys have such a steep pitch on your roofs.Most of our roofs have a pitch of 22.5 degrees.
Holy Mackerel, Pretty Slick (Literally) LOL, Nice Presentation, With A Perfect Ending !!!!....Thanks A Million, You Just Saved Me & My Back 3 Hours Worth Of Work, A MILLION THANKS !!!!!!
I tip my hat to you guys. I couldn't live there and wonder why you do when you could move south and never have to deal with that chore and the freezing temperatures.. I hope God bless you and yours in 2018!
Sorry guys...easier way, especially when you have two people, which I have done for years. Throw the wire over the roof ridge line. You don't even need to get on the roof, and no shoveling, and you get a much cleaner fall. Use a wire that is double the length of the roof, this way you can see it when you both hold it. One person each side. Pull taught so you can see if it is central on the ridge. Then both of you pull it down through the snow on the ridge (like a cheese slicer) You can use a gentle sawing method here to if necessary. You will know when you have hit the roof. This separates the two sides of the snow build up. Then simply both walk towards the same side of the house/cabin whilst keeping a slight downward tension on the wire. Done. Repeat for other side .
That is a great technique when it works. Unfortunately our 17 feet of annual snow contains many layers, including ice which cannot be cut with a wire. Most people up here don't consider paying to have their roof wired unless the snowfall accumulation is over 10 feet. We cut over 40 roofs this year and each one is different. Some ridge caps were 40 feet above above the ground and 60 feet long. Try tossing a wire over that roof. I have found that each roof has to be assessed and techniques adjusted accordingly.
That can be true. But with the high roofs I use a draw wire. Simply a sinker, spray painted a fluoro colour for ease of finding, attached to fishing line. Very easy to throw over a roof. Then attach the wire to one end, and drag over the roof and align as per my last statements. Also this method is so fast and easy that you can do it multiple times so you don't actually leave it so long that you have so much snow or ice to deal with. I just find it so quick, and easy I have done it many times on many different roofs. Just my method. But many roads lead to Rome I guess.
It is all about adapting to conditions. A roof that cuts easy or slides easy one year, won't cooperate the following year. What I have learned is that I'd better have a plan B ready in case plan A doesn't work.
D Townsend This is exactly what I was thinking while watching the video. I have a very low pitched vinyl sectional roof on my shed. Do you think your method would work?
Sorry, guys....more fun way, especially when you have two people, which I have done for years. Get yourself two cups, punch a hole into the bottom center, feed your line through the hole, tying a knot on the line, n pull taught. Then simply both walk to the same side of the house, one talking and one listening into the cup. Fun. Repeat for the other side.
I have seen roofer's supply houses that sell a device that you can actually shoot a line across the roof of a house and in your case you would not even need to go on the roof to wire it.
If you install a wire in the fall, it will most probably freeze to the ice layer nearest the roofing and you won't be able to move it. Besides, once you slide the roof, you have to shovel down the peak and set the wire again before you can cut the snow a second time. The wire is never permanent.
MetaView7 okay how about mounting both wires (connected) for each side in advance, making sure its insulated at the high mount point from the house, then figure out a way electrically to run some electric current thru it to warm the wire just enough to free it if it gets frozen.
Slow down, part of wiring snow is learning how to read the snow. Is the base powder? Is it frozen or wet? All this has a bearing on how you place the wire.While you are digging down to the roof peak, you are studying the snow's moisture content and consistency. I doing up to ten roofs a week right now, and some are 8 feet deep in snow. You cannot plan in advance to wire snow because each year presents its own challenges.
Well I would pre install the wire so it sits slightly up off the roof, not directly touching it. I'm not climbing up on any roof covered in snow to expose whatever. I know at least two people who have either died or are paralyzed waist down from falling off a roof so that's not happening to me.
Oh, sorry, Mikey is not an equal opportunity employer. That being said, please, transvestites need not apply. You can return to strategically placing your fishy "down there".
Why not string two wires up when you go up the first time so you only have to make one trip up? It helps to have a standing seam roof like you have for this to work too.
Unfortunately I have opposing roof angles. But I'm going to try it with a person on each side of the house and slide the wire across. Hopefully it works.
That is correct. Just think of the wire as a cheese cutter and you are slicing off the snow layer like a slice of cheese. The snow may not break loose until you pull the wire all the way across the roof.
No, setting the wire in the fall would not help. You have to shovel the ridge and even the edges of the roof sometimes to get the snow to release and slide. Besides, the wire would freeze in the ice layer next to the roofing and you couldn't pull it free anyway.
OK, so I was thinking that a metal roof was needed for this, but i see maybe 2 inches of snow left on most of the roof. That implies this would be possible on any type of roof with sufficient pitch. IS that correct? One possible problem I could see is snagging shingles and ripping them... Yes or no? nice vid, but the way. Kinda fun... Oh, I guess another question. More safety tan anything. Does the cable ever get snagged up as the snow slides? Seems to me a good idea not to wrap you hands as you pull the wire....
Nope.....properly placed shingles are layered, facing downward, so, you're dumb! N yes, already noted..... Mike used to have a little buddy named David whom wasn't so big n strong, n he used to wrap his hands in the line, til that one day Mike thought he'd hit a rough spot, gave the line a hard yank, and over the fucking roof David went!
You should anchor somthing to a tree or the ground like a winch or some kind of crank that would do most of the pulling for you! I dont know just a thought!
This is of absolutely not value in my life, since I live where snow will never fall on my roof, but it's still interesting to watch. I would think having to go outside in the bitter cold to have to cope with something like this would be a task I would dread.
Hey, Mike! Fantastic idea and video! I work for a Norwegian video site called SeDenne and would love to share your video on our site. It's snowing like crazy in Norway these days and our viewers could really need a better way to get rid off the snow. Can we get your permission to use your video? Best regards, Marte, video journalist
I like it, but I'd shoot the wire across the roof, and forego getting up on the roof. (I have a Bigshot launcher for tree work, that would make getting the line placed a breeze)
In order to get the roof to slip, you have to trench the snow along the roof cap, breaking the bond between the opposing sides of the roof. shooting a wire won't give you a solid break. I've tried.
Hmmm, I'm really good at thinking outside the box, when it comes to solutions. I have to get pretty creative to get ropes positioned properly in trees, around all sorts of obstacles. I could see some of my techniques solve that problem you mention
Part of wiring snow is learning how to read the snow. Is the base powder? Is it frozen or wet? All this has a bearing on how you place the wire.While you are digging down to the roof peak, you are studying the snow's moisture content and consistency. I am doing up to ten roofs a week right now, and some are 8 feet deep in snow. When I was first being taught how to wire roofs by Beaver, I tried a few things that I thought would speed things up. What I learned was that my 75 year old friend with 40 years of experience had it down to the simplest and safest method. Try what you like, it's your time to spend. Reply ·
Mike if you build your next garage with the pitch to the sides, rather than the front of the building then the snow won't need further moving. Would a higher pitched roof, not help? Also Teflon coated, self cleaning?
The garage was built garage was built in 1971 as part of a summer home. I agree that it was not well thought out to have the roof slide to the front/back. Fortunately, I have access to a large Ford tractor with a blower and blowing out the slide-off is not a big thing, I just did it last week.
@@BlackMountainMike thanks for the fast response. We got nailed this winter in Wisconsin. A good 2 and a half to 3 feet of snow on lots of roofs with some harder snow in the middle. Thinking about giving this a try on a metal lean to roof
There are a few things that you need to consider when trying to wire a roof, The first is temperature. The colder it is outside, the better it slides. If it is above freezing, your chances are slim of success. The angle is important, the steeper the pitch, the better it slides. If the roof pitch is steep enough, Try setting the wire close to the to of the snow where you trenched the roof peak. Pull the wire thru the snow as fast as possible and completely, Make sure that the wires cross at the bottom corner of the building so you get a complete cut. Finally, make sure that there are no branches laying on the room in the snow. Cut and remove any obstructions that may hang up the slide. one pine bow entwined in the snow will keep it from sliding. If none of this helps, you are going to have to climb up on the roof and cut the snow into blocks and push them off the roof with your shovel. Start at the bottom of the roof, working your way up.
Could somebody maybe install heat wiring in the attic to melt the snow. Or go up in into the Attic and install electric heaters to warm the ceiling causing the snow to melt.
Most of the roofs are built to slide. What stops the slide is consistent low temperatures and the snow depth. We get 15 to 20 feet or more of snowfall and the snow on the on the ridge bonds both sides together. If the temperatures get above freezing, the bond breaks and the snow slides. Unfortunately, the weight of the increasing snow load becomes structurally dangerous and needs to be reduced.
I use ice melt on ice dams in roof valleys. It would be neither practical nor safe to regularly sprinkle ice melt over the entire roof of a cabin. Especially considering the seventeen feet of snowfall we received last year.
You have to cut the roof in sections using the vents to determine where to trench down from the roof cap to the roof's edge. If you try to slip the entire roof surrounding the vent, it will either stay in place or you will no longer have a vent!
Awesome trick, never try it with power lines / wires near by,Guys, if you have a wood stove in the garage, you can melt the snow off as it comes down,what I do, never had a garage, my house, I open up the access to the attic, pull down stairs in my case, I propped it open with a soft object for good reasons, I had children who pulled the string when it was with in reach, had it been a 50 pound bar of lead I used, that would have hit them in the head. On with the story, prop open the access to the attic. , The heat from the wood stove, even the heating system, the heat in the house will gravitate up, melting the dangerous snow load and it will slide off, before it rains, Folks, it don't get heavier than it is by melting it, it gets heavier from added snow or rain. Hospitals in Massachusetts are full of folks fell off their roofs in blizzards out here in "Stupid ville, USA,, Take this advice,, MELT IT,, hope I made you laugh and inspire you
getdusty1 because snow has frozen layers in it, especially when you are dealing with 5-6 feet of snow or more. The wire could not give you a consistent, deep cut. Also it is fun to climb on roof peaks in winter. Peak work is my favorite part of sliding roofs. I did not have help and using my method, was able to slide several roofs on my own.
alot to be said re design of the roof ..if the gables were to the front and back ... the snow would fall to the sides and not the drive ... but i don't know shit from clay
The cabin/garage was built in 1971. I bought it 4 years ago so I’m not responsible for the design. My solution, let my friend with a large tractor/blower when I’m going to slide my roof and he clears the driveway as soon as it slides.
Many cabins are built with summer in mind, which unfortunately is when most vacationers visit the mountains. They have no idea as to what winter brings or how it interacts with their buildings.. You wind up with low pitches, dorm windows and roof valleys! But even the best of roof designs can have problems with ice dams and snow accumulation, depending on the temperatures and snow consistency.
Here in MN we build to keep the snow on the roof. Minimum 100PSF latent snow weight capability, Ice & Water shield to eliminate any effects from potential ice damming, and snow retention components are installed on all metal roofs. I do not believe there is ever any reason to remove the snow from any properly built roof.
Both standing underneath the eves and standing on the roof when it is loaded is not just dangerous but could easily be deadly. Snow moves very fast when it wants to. Don't ask how I know. Don't do it. Your tombstone epitaph would be, well....embarrassing.
You stand to the side of the roof when on the ground,not to the side. When I stand on the roof when it is being slid, I stand on the bare peak that I shoveled, not on the snow I’m sliding. I won’t ask you how you know, because you obviously don’t.
