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NO ROOF RAKE COULD MEAN COLLAPSE
copyright 2011 roofrake.com, photo by HoundCat

So you have the perfect cool attic and are seeing no ice dams but mother nature and her snow making machine wont let up. This winter scenario could be even worse and it takes me back years to speaking with a client in Washington state who was letting us listen to her creaking roof. At that point we did everything we could to overnight a roof rake to a location that didn't really have great road access.

And who could forget images of the the Minneapolis Stadium collapsing? Well, there's probably the only structure a roof rake could not have helped from impending collapse but I will add that Minnsnowta roof rake razors where used on domes in the 1999 winter games in Utah.

Carports and porches seem to be the first to collapse from snow. Their flat surfaces can only take so much weight, older structures seem next in line and it isnt long before stories begin popping up on the news.

How much does that snow on your roof weigh anyway? The average weight of 1 foot of compacted snow is 30 pounds. New roofs can support in excess of 40 pounds per square foot. Older homes vary. This is known as Snow Loading. Do you know how much snow your roof is rated for? Contacting your builder or architect, if they are still around is a good place to start.

Wet or drifted snow can cause the weight on your roof to increase dramatically so no need to remove as much as much of it as you can quickly. And the only tool to do that safely from the ground is a roof rake.