hedgehog (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 04:58 PM
Original message
Getting the snow off the barn roof - any ideas?
My husband climbs up to shovel off the roof on our three storey barn a couple of times every winter.
I'm thinking some heat tape on the roof or even the underside might melt the bottom layer of snow enough to allow the whole thing to slide off.
Has anyone ever tried this?
Botany (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:05 PM
Response to Original message
1. Roof Rake & Roof melt tablets
Rake from a sturdy ladder or platform and then throw roof melt tablets into the remaining snow
you can get 'em on line or have a hardware store order them
or just throw the tablets up on the roof .... cheaper than falling off and busting
your ass
heat tape is great but should be put up in good weather
Oceansaway (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:08 PM
Response to Original message
2. my old neighbors cut trap door like holes on both sides of their roof...they live in rural Iowa.
they had lift-up cellar type doors...when the snow got deep up there
they drove a dump truck into the barn, parked under the 'trap door'
went atop the roof with shovels and shoveled it into the holes and
into the dumptruck....it was pretty slick...and didn't cost much.
Trajan (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:09 PM
Response to Original message
4. I wonder how much energy would be used ...
To just introduce a space heater or two into the 'attic' portion - to generate heat to conduct from the interior to the exterior roof surface - Just enough to semi-melt the lowest snow layer so it can be 'lubricated' and slide off ...
Even though it might seem wasteful - It is far safer than climbing on the roof, and requires no installation; other than the safe, NON-combustible use of the space heater ...
It might actually be worth the price .... I don't really know ... Just a guess ....
I am not a farmer, and I prefer city living .... Good Luck !
hedgehog (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 06:19 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. The problem we have is that the old wood siding lets all the heat out the sides.
We had a salamander in there one time full bore and it didn't warm the place at all!
One of these years, when i get the money, we install insulation board all the way around!
Trajan (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 07:23 PM
Response to Reply #7
12. well ... I can understand about the siding ...
But it would actually help if the heat source was high in the rafters, and the roof skin 'leaked' .... I was thinking that introducing heat from the interior directly to the roof would loosen up the snow enough to let it slide down naturally .... I am sure this is a temporary measure ... unless you have snow atop your roof more than a couple times a year ...
It would help if the space were essentially sealed from an efficiency standpoint, but you might be able to pull it off .... I assume the problem is the snow loading, and not necessarily the cost of brief energy usage .... I dont know ...
gristy (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:16 PM
Response to Original message
5. Won't help this year, but maybe this summer nail down a steel roof over the existing roof
If your roof is steep enough, the snow will slide right off.
hedgehog (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 06:20 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. We have some aluminum sheet roofing on the south face, and boy howdy, does that do the job!
thaddeus_flowe (79 posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:21 PM
Response to Original message
6. have you ever tried living in california?
Arctic Dave (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 07:02 PM
Response to Original message
11. Rub two stick together until the ignite, walk away.
Remmah2 (220 posts) Mon Feb-07-11 01:02 PM
Response to Original message
13. Are you sure your barn was not designed to handle the load?
My uncle in Buffalo, NY has multiple barns ranging from 90 years old to 20 years old. The original barn is a post and beam construction type. The newer barns have pre-fabricated trusses.
We've never had to clear a roof. The old barn has a classic barn type roof while the newer ones have a simple 6/12 pitch.
Design wise the new buildings are designed for 100 pounds per square foot (dead load). He didn't build the original barn but there have been no problems.
Check with the local Cooperative Extension services. They may be able to provide technical advice to determine your barns durability. Roofing on barns is bad enough in good weather, I wouldn't want to climb on to a roof in the snow.
A salamander is a brand of forced air kerosene heater similar to this.
(http://www.coleauctionsinc.com/2008%20Auctions/September%2027.08/Salamander%20Heater.jpg)
Getting the snow off the barn roof - any ideas?
Step one: Climb onto barn roof.
Step two: Jump.
Letting off a couple of sticks of dynamite in the barn should cause the snow to break free and slide off.
A salamander is a brand of forced air kerosene heater similar to this.
(http://www.gadgetgrid.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/propane-torch-kit.jpg)
Best method for the primitives to remove snow from a barn roof.
This thread as so many others have done, prove that we don't hate DUmmies. If we did would we be willing to take the time and offer solutions to their problems?
Oceansaway (1000+ posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:08 PM
Response to Original message
2. my old neighbors cut trap door like holes on both sides of their roof...they live in rural Iowa.
they had lift-up cellar type doors...when the snow got deep up there
they drove a dump truck into the barn, parked under the 'trap door'
went atop the roof with shovels and shoveled it into the holes and
into the dumptruck....it was pretty slick...and didn't cost much.
I can't get past this. Doesn't this seem like a tremendous amount of bother? How do you lift up the cellar doors under that snow? Why truck the snow away? Can't you just push it onto the ground? One doesn't seem to be gaining alot for all the trouble and expense.
I can't get past this. Doesn't this seem like a tremendous amount of bother? How do you lift up the cellar doors under that snow? Why truck the snow away? Can't you just push it onto the ground? One doesn't seem to be gaining alot for all the trouble and expense.Exactly. If you have to go up there and shovel the snow, you just shovel it onto the ground. And the "cellar doors" would leak rainwater into the barn the rest of the year. Even a democrat farmer wouldn't be that dumb, unless he's trucking all that snow into a silo, to save it for summertime. Then he could sell it to the Slushee people.
thaddeus_flowe (79 posts) Sat Feb-05-11 05:21 PM
Response to Original message
6. have you ever tried living in california?
Pack the loft full of small-bale hay, then set it on fire. Trust me, DUmmies, works perfectly; try this once and you'll never worry about snow on your barn roof again.
:whistling:
Yeah, there's no such thing as snow in California, right?
http://www.skireport.com/california/
****in retards.
Hey, why the hell are you people so worried about snow on your roofs? Didn't Al Gore tell you imbiciles that there wouldn't be any more snow because of global warming?
These morons don't get enough snow to educate them! They oughta try livin' at the base of a ski resort!
Just took this lookin' out my back door............(http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/6236/dscf0507l.jpg)
I believe it was back in the late 70's or early '80s that the gubmint started issuing a snow load spec. Even with mobile homes, you could sell different raftered homes in different locations according to annual snow fall. The only problem is, ya get years like this where the snowfall can exceed the norm so you can get engineering failures.
Same thing with local building codes. Rafter spacing can be as close as 12" for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan, and as much as 24" in southern Kalifornica, Oregon, and Washington.
Allo,
Do you guys have building codes on roof pitch?
We don't get snow like y'all do, so high pitch is bad, just because of the heat in the summer, more space to cool. Lots of new houses are built that way. What I think should be outlawed is shoddy construction/insulation and the hot water heater upstairs. This last cold "snap" had 100+ hours under freezing, and now we have an addl 48. I know two people personally whose pipes froze and the hot water heater busted, 4 inches or more of water in the house, on the floor. That ain't right.
Another spec we have around here is plumbing cannot be on an outside wall. You can have a sink or tub on the outside wall, but the plumbing has to come up thru the floor. Usually eliminates that problem unless we lose power for an extended length of time, which does happen occasionally, so we're not immune.
Hence the reason why we have to drip our faucets at the hint of below freezing weather. All of my sinks, two bathroom, one kitchen, and the washer are ALL on outside walls. And the water is not buried beneath our frost line, but that wouldn't matter, since I have a pier and beam and they are all exposed anyway. Last year I insulated the pipes, this year, it will be the attic.
Where the hell do ya live, the Banana Belt? I didn't think they did that kinda stuff except south of the Mason Dixon line!
Texas dude. Texas. :texas: