Roof collapse danger high; Home Depot out of rakes

George Basham of Home Repair and More of Rochester said Thursday was a busy day clearing roofs of snow. He predicts the danger of roof collapses today is extremely high if they have not been cleared. (Harrison Thorp photo)

ROCHESTER - A local home repairs professional who clears roofs of snow as part of his business predicts that with today’s rain the danger of area roof collapses could be one of the highest seen in recent years.

“You’ve got to remember, we probably got 30 inches of snow in a week. The first storm started as fluffy then it turned to ice, then there were another two storms that were fluffier. Then the warm weather makes it all heavier,” said George Basham, who owns Home Repair and More of Rochester.

Basham said Thursday he’d done five roofs in the past two days and still has four to get done in today’s rain.

George Basham

He said it’s imperative that he get those done today or they could face imminent collapse, but he warns homeowners to try to avoid going up on top to do a roof. It can be very dangerous for shovelers and bad for roof shingles.

He advises homeowners to get as much snow and ice of the roof as they can using a roof rake, which you can buy at any hardware store, if you can find one in stock, that is. Home Depot of Rochester sold out of its last roof rake on Thursday.

He said if you can’t get it all off with a roof rake, or you can’t find a roof rake, then call a professional.

If you absolutely have to shovel your roof, however, there are some tips to keep you safe and protect your roof.

For one, he said always push the snow from top to bottom. Never shovel upward as it can loosen the adhesive and ruin the shingles. He said if you’re shoveling a roof over a heated portion of your house, you risk greater shingle damage.

He said shoveling snow off a metal roof can be extremely dangerous as the snow can loosen and become very slippery.

Basham said when he absolutely has to shovel a metal roof he makes sure there is a wall of snow on the roof between him and the downward edge, so if he does slip he can fall into the snow and not over the roof.

Basham said he was doing one metal roof on Thursday and it just became too dangerous to continue.

The bad news for homeowners is the rain and sleet is expected to continue throughout the day today, with below freezing temps tonight. Sunny conditions are expected for Saturday with highs around 50.

Milton Hardware, by the way, still has plenty of roof rakes in stock.