Roof Raking

[SAMIAM]

You won't regret it , Siksukr.The snow just slides right off....no more shoveling or ice dams. I would definately recommend the "standing seam"type roofing.There are no visable skrews or nails and they look and last much better.I've had both. Good luck

[Dave M]

I was thinking of putting heater cords but don't know to much about them. Are there different types of heated cords,etc. Is any one better than another. Do they make some that just sits in the gutter and downspout. How much does this add in cost for the electricity. Is any one of the heated cords better at cost than another.

Thanks

Dave M

[dpg]

Sometimes I rake the roof at home sometimes I don't. Problem is when I do it, it all falls off the roof onto the shrubs and ruins them!

I always said crushed shrubs is better than roof leaks.

[hilltopper]

I bought a 30 foot length the other day. The directions make these things sound like a real PITA. They don't suggest using extension cords but only give you 10 feet of non-heated cord. They say not to put them on existing ice. They say they can only be operated during melting (outside temp range of 15 to 35 degrees or something like that). Would you say the directions are being overly cautious?

[SIKSUKR]

In general,most roofs designed and and built in NH are built for substantial snowloads.Flatter pitched roofs should have larger dimensional framing to support more of a load.For the most part you should rarely have to shovel most roofs to protect from overload.More likely roofs edges get raked to try to prevent ice damming.If you have heat cord installed higher up past the overhang of your roof,ice dams are really not a problem because the cord melts a path for the water to escape.Having said all this,I raked my roof right before the X-mas rain worried about the extra load from 2 ft of snow sponging up all that water load.So to each his own.