Best Method to Remove Existing Roofing???


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Old 04-02-07, 04:58 AM
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Question Best Method to Remove Existing Roofing???

2 layers of Asphalt Shingles

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Old 04-02-07, 07:54 PM
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Well, have fun with the hard work of removing two layers. Are you wanting advice on just removing the old roofing or are you interested in the whole dropping on the ground and hauling off suggestions?

You can purchase an angled shovel at a supply store or DIY home improvement center. Start at the top and start removing the shingles and try lifting the nails with the shovel it will leave fewer nails to remove with hammer. Slide the shovel under the top of the shingle above the nail. Shove with some force to the nail and try to insert it under the nail and pop it out.
You can remove a few rows an then start on the 2nd layer and remove it as you go.

Put a tarp down and some plywood up against the house to protect landscaping and the house itself. What you decide to use yo haul it off is your choice.

let me know how it goes and if you have any questions.
 
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Old 04-03-07, 04:53 AM
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I'm looking for advice as in how to remove them and yes I'm not looking forward to removing 2 layers.

They make a shingle removal tool kinda looks like a shovel with teeth have you ever used one of those???

Thanks
 
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Old 04-03-07, 12:30 PM
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I have used the teeth shovel which has an angled piece of metal which keeps it at an angle to facilitate removal. However I used mostly a standard rounded shovel and used the point of the shovel to 'pop' the nails. The nails that dont come up you can pound them down or remove with a hammer.
 
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Old 04-13-07, 01:18 PM
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I've used a regular spade to do my roof. The shovel with teeth is easier, but it's just another tool that you use once every 10 years that will clutter your garage. The tool is a must if you regularly do this type of work.
 
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Old 04-13-07, 04:26 PM
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I was putting in windows one day, and a crew of 2 guys were working on a roof next door. One guy was using a potato fork, while the other guy was picking up the whole shingles he had lifted and was stacking them into 6" tall piles. They were lighting fast.

He started at the top, stuck the potato fork under the tabs of a row of shingles, then pushed down to lift them off the nails. Then he just worked his way down the row, like a typewriter, before turning around and coming back. The other guy was right behind him, pulling up the shingles, putting them in stacks which they picked up and threw off the roof into the trailer that sat in the driveway.

Once the shingles were gone, they just had nails to pull. I use the "shing-go" shovel (Google for "shing-go" if you don't know what it looks like) because it works great for pulling roofing nails without bending over. And I have a bad back! It blows the other roof ripper shovels away.

When I went to help in Louisiana we were on a roofing crew and tore off roofs for 2 weeks using this technique... it works great. We did one house, which was an 18 sq hip roof, in 1 hour 40 minutes. Tearoff and put on. That was our crew's best record... by that time, most of the crew was using the technique I had passed on to them. I'm glad I noticed that roofing crew working next door. They knew what they were doing!
 
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Old 04-14-07, 04:44 PM
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Potato fork/shovel works great for ripping roofing off. Other than that I do things a bit different than X does. I rip the capping off and then drop 3' down the roof and work across. I like the extra leverage you get working up with the short handles potato fork (doesn't kill your back leaning down). You usually can work across the roof and get 3x4' to 3x8' sections loose and peeled back. Those large pieces are nice when you are directly throwing them into a dump truck.

Make sure you clean up the staples and nails or your tarpaper will look like it went through a clusterbomb attack. Doesn't do any wonders for waterproofing either. Remember to check the sheathing and make sure its nailed down correctly while you have the roof bare. I always have the framing nailer with me just in case things don't look right.
 
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Old 04-14-07, 04:57 PM
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Sounds like about the same thing, Hellrazor. We work from the top down, but like I mentioned, you stick the fork under the tabs (from below). Like you said, it's easier on the back! Depending on how easily they come up you can take 1, 2, or 3 rows up easily at one time. When you've got 10 people tearing off, everyone just goes ballistic and rips the heck out of everything and it's not as orderly as my description of the 2 guys I saw working!

I've actually done a few roofs where you could grab the shingles at the bottom and just pull up an entire stairstepped row of them from top to bottom. (worthless staples that pull right through the old brittle shingles). The tar holds the shingles together and you just drag the whole "carpet" off the edge of the roof. Sadly, other times shingles break up into little itty-bitty pieces. Those roofs usually have dark shingles that have been baked by the sun. My motto when tearing off is, "the more the merrier." In other words, "less work for me!"
 
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Old 04-15-07, 05:10 AM
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Staples are a royal pain. It takes forever to clean them all up. I haven't run into the old dried out shingles all that often. What I hate is when people coat their roof with tar or other crap and you have to get the shingles back off.

And of course the worst of the worst... slate that was coated with sealers for 20 years.
 
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Old 05-01-07, 01:03 PM
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Unhappy

sharp shovel and hard work im afraid
 
 

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