A rooftop covered with heavy snow. (Submitted/WorkSafeNB)
Removing snow from your roof can be a tedious job, but there are things to keep in mind to do it safely.
WorkSafeNB says it is important to plan ahead before the snow starts to accumulate on your roof.
Laragh Dooley, director of communications, says you should have an idea how much weight your roof can bear.
“If you don’t know that, you can certainly have an engineer come out and assess that,” said Dooley.
You should keep people off the roof, if possible, by removing the snow with an extendable snow rake or aerial lift, she said.
If that is not possible and you do need to send people up, Dooley said they should be aware of any hazards.
“Things like skylights, electrical connections, tripping hazards,” she said. “You also want to determine what kind of fall protection you need to use.”
With winter storms piling snow on in #NB, it’s causing headaches for home and business owners alike. Given the accumulations, WorkSafeNB is reminding New Brunswickers how to safely clear snow from rooftops to prevent truss collapses. https://t.co/rFjqBUrXgS pic.twitter.com/UAKrAHrNPc
— WorkSafeNB (@WorkSafeNB) March 5, 2019
Dooley said snow should be cleared in a cross-direction to the roof trusses in order to reduce the stress at the same time.
“Also, it’s extremely important to remove snow evenly from both sides of the roof to avoid concentrating the load in one area,” she said.
Dooley said you should give yourself rest cycles and hydrate with plenty of water to reduce the risk of a heart attack.
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