How to Strip Shingles

Опубликовал Admin
28-07-2021, 03:50
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Stripping roof shingles is a breeze compared to installing them—it’s as easy as prying up the old shingles with a shingle ripper or roof shovel and chucking them in a dumpster. But while the project is simple, it has the potential to be quite dangerous. If you insist on tackling it yourself, take a few basic safety measures, like equipping yourself with hand and eye protection and heavy work boots that offer plenty of traction. If the roof you’re working on has a pitch steeper than about 6-12, think about strapping yourself into a roof harness to make sure you won’t be hurt in the event of a fall.

Taking the Necessary Safety Precautions

  1. Use plywood boards or plastic tarps to protect the structure you’re renovating. Lean the boards vertically against the upper part of the outer walls, just below the eaves. If you don’t have any scrap plywood handy, you can also nail one or more plastic tarps to the bottom row of shingles to create a makeshift catch-screen.
    • The plywood or plastic will serve as a barrier, safeguarding delicate exterior features from falling shingles, nails, and miscellaneous debris.
    • Taking the time to put a shield in place will also simplify the cleanup process once you’ve completed your project.
  2. Pull on a pair of gloves and some protective eyewear. Select a pair of gloves that are thick enough to protect your hands from the rough roof shingles, as well as any stray nails they might come across. You’ll also want to strap on some safety goggles, or at least a durable pair of sunglasses, for the same reason.
    • Gloves made from head-wearing materials like leather, nylon, blended synthetics, and Kevlar are always a safe choice.
    • Make sure your gloves are well-fitting and comfortable enough to wear for hours on end.
  3. Wear heavy work boots with grippy soles. The tread pattern, depth, and material of your boots should offer the maximum amount of traction possible. You may be able to get away with wearing sneakers or similar footwear for smaller-scale projects. However, stay away from shoes with smooth or flat bottoms, or those that are losing tread due to age or excessive wear.
    • The heavier your boots, the surer your footing will be.
    • Boots are also superior to shoes because they’re typically made with more durable materials.
  4. Strap yourself into a roof harness to ensure your safety. To use a roof harness, start by nailing the metal roof anchor to one of the rafters at the roof’s peak using 4-6 durable 16-penny nails. Step into the harness and pull it up over your shoulders, then tighten down the cinch points at the hips and chest. Finally, attach the carabiner end of the safety rope to the ring on the roof anchor, feed the opposite end through the nylon lanyard, and clip the lanyard onto the back of the harness.
    • If you happen to slip while wearing the harness, the safety rope will catch on the teeth inside the lanyard clip, stopping your descent.
    • Anytime you’re working at height, there’s a risk of injury. This is especially true of roofing jobs, since you’ll be spending lots of time perched precariously on top of the structure.

Removing Shingles

  1. Get a shingle ripper or roof shovel to use for removal. You don’t need any fancy tools to strip roof shingles—all you really need is a prybar or shingle ripper (also known as a “roofing bar”) and a lot of patience. However, a specially-designed roof shovel can help you get the job done with far more speed and efficiency. The tool you end up going with will depend primarily on your budget and available resources, as well as the scope of your project.
    • You can pick up a roof shovel at any major hardware store or home improvement center for around $30-50. Roof shovels have steeply-angled blades with serrated tips, which make them perfect for pulling up multiple shingles quickly.
    • A roof shovel will be your best bet if you’ve got a particularly large area to cover or you're working against the clock.
  2. Tackle the removal in small sections until you’ve completed the entire roof. Remove all tiles within a 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m) radius of where you're standing before moving onto the next section. This way, you can minimize the amount of unnecessary walking or backtracking you're forced to do.
    • Many roofing experts recommend starting at the roof’s peak and working your way down. However, you’re free to start at either the upper or lower end of the roof. Neither direction is necessarily safer or more efficient, so it’s mostly just a matter of preference.
    • One advantage of working from top to bottom is that you’ll have less chance of accidentally stepping on an exposed nail in one of your previously-removed sections.
  3. Use your shingle ripper to pry up each shingle enough to loosen the nails. Beginning at the end of the row, wedge the tip of the tool under the bottom edge of the shingle where it overlaps the top of the shingle in the next row down. Then, push down on the handle to raise the shingle as high as it will go. If the initial lifting action doesn’t cause the nails to come free completely, use the slotted end to finish pulling them out.
    • Make sure you force your tool in as far as it will go to increase your leverage.
    • The claw end of an ordinary hammer can also be helpful for taking care of stubborn nails.
  4. Dig up multiple shingles at once with your roof shovel. Place the tip of the tool against the bottom of the row and thrust it forward forcefully while pushing down on the handle. The grooved serrations will hook onto the buried nails, while the lifted blade tears them and the shingles they’re securing away with little effort.
    • The blades on most roof shovels will be wide enough to fit under 2 or even 3 shingles at once.
    • You can also approach less accessible shingles, such as the ridge caps along the roof’s peak, from one side.

Handling the Cleanup

  1. Throw your materials in a dumpster or large trash receptacle as you go. Each time you remove a fresh clusters of shingles, pause long enough to toss them over the edge of the roof into your waste container. Don’t allow loose shingles to pile up on the roof. This can make it harder to keep up with which areas you’ve already stripped and create a tripping hazard.
    • A wheelbarrow can also serve as an acceptable dumping container if you don’t have anything larger available.
    • Assuming you don’t have any kind of suitable container, you’ll have no choice but to go around the structure and gather up the loose debris by hand after you finish stripping the roof.
  2. Locate and pull up any remaining nails that you might have missed. Upon removing the final shingles, go back and inspect the exposed roof sheathing thoroughly from end to end. If you discover any nails still embedded in the sheathing, use your shingle ripper or a hammer to pry them out and add them to your collection of waste materials.
    • Keep an eye out for loose nails that have come free but may still be lying underfoot, as well.
  3. Have your materials picked up for disposal or take them to the nearest landfill. If you opted to rent a dumpster, there should be a disposal fee included in your rental agreement, so all you have to do is kick back and wait for the company to come pick up the container. Otherwise, you'll need to load everything up and haul it to a nearby dump or landfill yourself.
    • If you’re not sure where to take your stripped materials, run a quick search for “construction waste disposal” plus the name of your town, city, or territory to find the nearest facility equipped to handle the task of disposal or recycling.
    • Try to make as few trips as possible to spare yourself further time and labor. If necessary, borrow a pickup truck or flatbed trailer so you can cram more materials into each load.

Tips

  • All of the recommended tools mentioned here will work for removing the most common types of shingles, including asphalt, wood, tile, and composite materials.
  • Recruiting a helper (or team of helpers) can cut down drastically on the total amount of time and labor required for your project.
  • You can save yourself as much as $1,000-3,000 on average by handling the demolition of an old shingle roof yourself.

Warnings

  • Roofing jobs are risky business, especially when you’re working on a structure with a steep roof pitch. If you’re not confident in your ability to get the job done safely, it may be best to call in the professionals.

Things You’ll Need

  • Plywood boards or plastic tarps
  • Durable work gloves
  • Safety goggles or other eye protection
  • Heavy work boots with reliable grip
  • Shingle ripper or roof shovel
  • Large trash receptacle
  • Roof harness (optional)
  • Hammer and 16-penny nails (optional)
  • Prybar (optional)
  • Dumpster (optional—recommended for big projects)
  • Wheelbarrow (optional)
  • Heavy-duty garbage bags (optional)
  • Pickup truck or flatbed trailer (optional)
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