Safety Tips Shoveling Snow Off The Roof

Workers may fall off roof edges through skylights and from ladders and aerial lifts.

Safety tips shoveling snow off the roof.

The threat of costly repairs and significant safety hazards will sometimes require removing excess snow from your roof. We are in a little warm spell here after all the snow the last 10 days. Roofs that are flat also have a maximum snow load they can carry. Remember to avoid using a ladder in snowy and icy conditions.

Safe roof snow removal can be achieved only if you combine thorough preparation with trained workers proper protection well maintained equipment and a healthy respect for the outdoor elements. Workers performing snow removal operations are exposed to many serious hazards. It seems like the roofers that taught me sure knew about this from their height safety class as well as from personal experience. Deep snow on a roof can bury a gas appliance flue causing the exhaust to enter the home.

Probably 12 inches in thickness when it was up there. What s the final word. Leaks roof collapse ice damming and more can result from too much snow and ice staying too long on your roof. Clearing the snow off your roof from the gutters or eaves upwards of three to four feet after each winter storm can help prevent ice dams from forming.

If you do lift it use a small shovel or only. Shoveling snow off your roof. National safety council recommends the following tips to shovel safely. Don t use mechanical snow removal equipment.

Workers may also be injured or killed by a roof. From a couple of roofers i was taught about the safety of shoveling off snow from the roof. This morning it was all on the ground. This condition can introduce carbon monoxide a colorless odorless poisonous gas in the building.

Check with a structural engineer before using water or a heating device to melt the snow. Based on the findings of osha investigations falls cause the most worker fatalities and injuries during rooftop snow removal. Take it slow and stretch out before you begin. To that end here are 8 tips on how to safely handle the rooftop snow removal process.

If your flat roof is easily accessible from an interior stairway you may want to shovel the roof but be careful not to damage the roof covering. Melting the snow in lieu of removal may cause localized overloading of the roof. Excess snow on the roof can weaken and potentially collapse a structure particularly an older building with a shallow pitched roof. But if you do have to get the snow off the roof here are some tips from fema for removing snow safely and effectively.

The risk of damaging the roof. Shovel only fresh powdery snow. My neighbor has a low pitched 4 12 roof that is steel. There are potential dangers of shoveling or raking snow from a roof besides the collapse danger.

Do not shovel after eating or while smoking. There are the dangers of a person sliding off the roof falling from a ladder overexertion or falling snow sliding on top of them. That s why i prefer to have my father or even a professional come over to my roof and shovel away the snow.