# roofs?



## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

so i have a friend who has asked me to clear the snow off of her roof, also her 2 neighbors need it to. ive never done it before, is this hard? how much should i charge? what equipment should i use? any input is good, thanks guys.


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

Are they one or two story?


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

just 1 story residential houses


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## Plowinpro03 (Dec 18, 2007)

shovel down lol.....(you'd be amazed that habit would get the best of you by accidentally going against the roof) Also, realize that depending were the snow lands..(driveway/porch/front entrance or any place of obstructions) you'll need to move it again. Charge accordingly...(hourly would be your best bet min of a certain amount depending on size). Gauge the roof, does it have alot of valley's in it, are they steep, sky lights in the way, objects around the landing of the snow. It's physical labor, you won't really be able to use more then just a shovel...(those little snow-blowers look like they would be the ticket, but again you don't wanna damage the roof). At the VERY minimum I would say 200-250 (1.000sqft) bucks depending on amount of snow as well. (think of it this way an electrician gets anywhere between 55-85 bucks to change out a light switch) Your doing a high volume of work.


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

Start at the bottom of the roof and push off (gravity is your friend), work your way to the top. Do not take all the snow off, leave a couple inches on to protect the shingles and insulate the house. Cleanup drive, deck, walkway when finished. Snow on the ground to cleanup will be the hardest part of clearing a roof.


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

Plowinpro nailed it,


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

well how much should i charge for an 1800 sq ft. one story house? i will have another guy doing this with me.


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

Id say between 400 and 500 depending on do you have to shovel the snow twice? meaning once its off the roof can you get at it with any equipment or can it just stay there?


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

nope i can just get it off the roof and leave it, how long do these jobs normally take?


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

What kind of equipment do you have?


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

well i got shovels, and home depot is making me a roof rake only becuase EVERYONE is sold out.


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

Well with the "Goon Spoons" Id be inclinded to chasrge around the 400-500 mark but once again how many sides do you have to shovel once the snow is on the ground? The other thing is how cold is it where you are? and how long has it been cold? Roof snow tends to be very HEAVY so thats another thing to take in to consideration


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

it stays around 15-30 degrees, and for just getting it off the roof, can you estimate a time frame?


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

How much snow on the roof? How many guys?


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

about 1 foot, 2 guys


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## 26543 (Jan 28, 2008)

Id count on 8hrs


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

wow ok, then ill go for $500 ; )


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

February 2006, I called a crew in to do a property roof for me. Roughly 2000 sq feet of roof. All snow went onto deck. Roof had anywhere from 6" on the peak, 4' half way to 5' along the eve. Crew of 11 had the roof done, deck cleared (1000 sq ft) in about 3 hrs. Shovels on roof, shovels & snow blower on deck.


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

ECS what did they charge if i may ask?


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

If I remember right it was just over $2k. I only had them do the north side of the roof as the south only had about 15" on it.


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

wow.....so is my $500 maybe to low? for a 1800 sq ft house?


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

Well there was a butt load of snow for them, plus clearing all the snow from the roof off the deck, 33 hrs total so that is only a little over $60/man hour. I charge by the hour on the ones I do and charge $75/hr. They took it all the way down to the shingles, I alway leave a good layer of snow on the roof when I do them.

Also if you do this, do not dress to warm and bring some water/juice/Gatorade up with you as you will be plenty warm and very thirsty in no time.


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

so instead of by the job just bid it by the hour, and your $75/hour how many guys is that for?


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

thelandyman;506284 said:


> so instead of by the job just bid it by the hour, and your $75/hour how many guys is that for?


 That is for me and me only. I am completly solo. If I had a day helper with me it would be $75 per man hour or $150 per hour for two. If you have to clear off the walkway, drive or deck, sometimes it takes you hours to do that. That roof & deck I described earlier had about 8' of heavy compacted snow on it when they got to it. If it has moisture in it, it will be even heavier. It will be just like a plow burm at the end of a driveway when they plow the road, only much higher and wider. If it is over a garage, you can either just push it off onto the drive or push it off into the bed of a truck, but then you would need to move the truck and shovel the back of the truck out once it was full.


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## thelandyman (Feb 3, 2008)

hmm ok well the job that i have, the lady is not worried about her driveway, and she doesnt have a deck or anything, i think she's just worried about getting the snow off of the roof, whatever it takes


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## Plowinpro03 (Dec 18, 2007)

If ur only talking 6inches of snow up the side of an A frame style roof and only 1800 sqft, it shouldn't take you very long. I think 75hr is fair for the amount of snow your moving. A few other notes to take into cosideration. SELECT a NICE shovel, I cant TELL you how many times ive done this with a straight blade, you tend to start to "scrap and push" the snow, which isn't good,. Go with a "bent" back saver if you can, it's very worth it. Wear a THIN pair of gloves, (like those mechanic type gloves). Its all about grip, and less tension in your hands those gloves will provide plenty of that. If you keep your hands dry, they wont get cold, and you'll stay cool enough were they wont sweat and keep from causing some nasty blisters. Stay clear from the edges, they tend to get very icy, also watch out for gutters if you go to "push" snow off the edge of the roof or when you use one of those rake deals. Just realize that when that snow hits the driveway, it becomes VERY hard packed, and difficult to move, she may not care right away, but you wont be able to shovel it very easly if she says something after. If you must take a time out from the roof when the pile starts to get decent and clear it if you need too. Make sure you explain this too her, b/c the snow bank will build very close to the house, were a plow may not be able to get up in there and back blade it and a snow-thrower will have a hard time moving it as well!. (Think of it as trying to back blade a huge pile of snow you just packed into a corner with your plow) Maybe her roof well have a thin lair of ice on it as well (that can work to your advantage b/c you have a less chance of gouging the roof), but becarful on that ice if there is any, i think walmart sells cleet-straps for regular shoes if you find yourself in some trouble you can get a pair of those there cheap and effective. Like mentioned bring fluids, and believe it or not bring some bananas with ya, it'll keep your lactic acid good and going so you wont get week.


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

Also take two shovels up on the roof withyou. This will save you from going back down to pick up your shovel when you drop it.


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## ECS (Nov 11, 2005)

thelandyman;506315 said:


> hmm ok well the job that i have, the lady is not worried about her driveway, and she doesnt have a deck or anything, i think she's just worried about getting the snow off of the roof, whatever it takes


Just scoot over here next Monday. I will have that crew up on the roof next Monday and you can help, get experience and see for yourself what it requires. Right now the cornace overhanges from the eve ahout 6' out and 5 ' below the eve. The roof has about 5' of snow on it also. The wall undr that particular section of roof is all glasss. There are windows that go up 20 ' and across more than 24'. I alway worry that the sudden vibration of a thousand paounds of snow hitting the deck is going to shatter some of the windows. They place plywood in front of the indows and on top of the hot tub cover. When they are done clearing the deck, there will be more than 8 feet of snow out in the yard as right now there is 5' - 5 1/2' in the yard. Then we can go do the one I am suppose to do this week , but more snow in the foecast for the rest of the week, so that isn't going to happen until next week.

If the roof has a cold roof, which it should, you should not have any ice. Get a long handled shovel, like a coal or grain shovel. Stick it in the snow, pull back and give a shove, it should come off in slabs, just like the slabs from an avalanche. Go across the roof, back up and repeat untill you have the roof done.


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## mtnzone (Apr 8, 2008)

our average price three man crew on cape style house was $375 to $400. we use snow scoops 24 inches wide start at bottom work the whole bottom take three steps back and work across keep doing that until you reach the top.. clean up... hard work.. but made more money shoveling roofs the month of February than i did plowing all season...we averaged 4 roofs a day. took us 3 hours per roof if there was around 2 feet of snow . We charged more if we had to move snow off decks and walkways afterward as believe it or not .. the snow packs down and is much harder to move....the two other guys were paid hourly......and i bought them lunch.....lol


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