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How to Remove a Roof From a House

removing a roof
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On average, a residential roof should be replaced every sixteen years. When that time comes around for your roof, you may think it is a project you can attempt doing yourself; however, there are many tools and steps required to successfully remove a roof.

Roof Removal Tools and Safety Equipment

Before you try and remove a roof yourself, understand that there are a few materials you’re going to need:

  • Broom magnet
  • Cat’s paw
  • Chalk line
  • Extension ladder
  • Flat bar
  • Hammer and nails
  • Hammer-tacker stapler
  • Ice and water barrier
  • Leather gloves
  • Plywood
  • Pry bar
  • Safety belts, ropes, and a harness
  • Sturdy footwear
  • Tarps
  • Tear-off shovel
  • Trash container

The Steps to Remove a Roof

Now that you know what tools are required, here is what needs to be done to remove a roof:

  1. The first step in getting a new roof is to obtain a permit from the city, otherwise, you could face a fine.
  2. Removing the old roof from a home requires a trash dumpster in the driveway or alongside the home so that it is in a convenient location to catch old shingles and other roof debris. A tarp should also be spread over nearby bushes and trees. Windows can also be protected by covering them with plywood.
  3. Next, the old shingles will need to be torn off with a tear-off shovel, cat’s paw, flat bar, and pry bar. Any fasteners will need to be removed as well. A broom magnet can also be helpful to complete that.
  4. After removing all of the shingles, the debris will need to be cleaned off the roof with a push broom.
  5. After the roof is clean, it’s time to cut an ice and water barrier. This can be measured out and cut to size using a chalk line. A roof’s ice and water barrier is especially important in Florida where severe storms are common, so it should be properly placed using a hammer-tacker stapler.

Once these steps have been completed, the new roofing materials will be ready to be marked for placement and installation; however, all work should first be inspected by a roofing professional before laying down a new roof.

Why Removing a Roof Is Not a Do-It-Yourself Project

Florida has some of the strictest building codes in the nation. Without passing a proper inspection from the city, removing your roof could hurt you in the future from filing an insurance claim. Furthermore, your insurance provider will not accept a DIY-replaced roof as an approved replacement and could drop you as a policyholder.

Instead of risking your coverage by taking on a massive roof replacement project on your own, rely on your local roofing professionals at RBS Construction & Roofing to remove a roof for you.

Need to Remove a Roof? Call RBS Construction & Roofing

The highly qualified Central Florida roofers at RBS Construction & Roofing have all the equipment and know all the steps required to remove a roof in Central Florida. Our locally- and family-owned and operated roofing business has been serving Orlando homeowners with professional roof removals and installations for over thirty years.

If you need help inspecting, removing, or replacing a roof, please contact the experienced and equipped roofers at RBS Construction & Roofing today at (689) 304-9605.

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