Roof Raking

Making The Most Of Cold And Snowy South Shore Days: Where To Sled and Skate

Winter 2024 Update: Check Out This New South Shore Skating Rink!

Since we wrote the blog post below, South Shore residents have had the good fortune to have a new place to skate outdoors in the Quincy Center ice skating rink located near General’s Bridge. Be sure to check it out with friends & family this winter!

As we write this post, it’s looking to be a cold weekend ahead here on Boston’s South Shore; plus, it’s only early February, which means there’s still likely going to be plenty of days ahead this year fit for outdoors ice skating and/or sledding.

The above inspired our South Shore roofing company to share our list of great places to skate or sled on the South Shore — the place our residential roofing contractors call home! Check out these places to “play” outdoors on South Shore winter days!

Where To Ice Skate On The South Shore (Outdoors)

Where To Sled On The South Shore

Be Safe When It Comes To Outdoors Ice Skating and Sledding

Inspired to head out for skating or sledding? Be sure your children bring and wear their helmets, thick gloves or mittens, and hats. And, make sure an adult will be accompanying and watching them throughout their skating or sledding activities! And, keep in mind that safety experts recommend that children sled feet-first!

If ice skating is in the plans for your South Shore winter play day, make sure an adult checks the ice before children skate on it. Ice that has open water patches is a “no go” for skating — it’s just not safe. Look for outdoors ice skating spots where ice has a dark blue color vs. white or grey, since dark blue ice is safer!

Lastly, be sure to pack some hot drinks, like hot cocoa, or hot cider, in thermoses to warm everyone up and keep them hydrated!

This is an illustrated, cartoon-like drawing showing a family enjoying a winter day sledding and skating outdoors. The image shows two boys who are sledding on a hill that is nearby a pond. One boy has fallen off his sled and is lying in the snow, but not hurt. Pictured on the pond ice skating are a mother with a boy and girl. This image is shared to support our south shore roofing contractors' blog post about great places to ice skate and sled on Boston's South Shore.

Play It Safe When It Comes To Your Home And Roof This Winter

And, speaking of both playing and staying safe, be sure to “play it safe” and hire an expert when snow and ice are causing, or have potential to cause, damage to your home or roof due to ice dams. As we explain in this blog post about ice dams, ice dams can damage your home. So, learn what they are and why you should hire professional roofers like South Shore Roofing to help you treat and remove them.

Our Team Of Roofing Experts Is Always Here To Help

Whether you need help because of winter weather’s impact on your home and roof, or you want to start planning for a new roof installation or roof replacement this spring, reach out to the team of roofing experts at South Shore roofing today!

8 Steps To Keep Your Home and Family Merry & Safe This Winter and Holiday Season

Because of the restrictions and limitations that COVID19 placed on the 2020 holiday season, we’re all particularly excited about holiday home decorating safety celebrating the holidays in 2021, right? As South Shore roofing contractors, we’re seeing and hearing from local friends, family, and customers that they plan to go all out with holiday shopping, home get-togethers (even if they keep them small or stick to just family based on their pandemic comfort level), and decorating the inside and outside of their homes.

We think you’ll agree that, with all that “stepped-up” holiday activity, it’s more important than ever that we all do all we can to protect our South Shore homes and families, by putting the following measures in place:

Hanukkah Holiday SafetyThe team of roofing experts at our South Shore roofing company is always available to talk with you about any of the following & more!: attic ventilation, attic air circulation; roof moisture, wall moisture, or ceiling moisture; ice dam prevention, ice dam removal; new home roof installation; and home roof replacement. Never hesistate to reach out to see if we can be of service related to home safety measures or home challenges.

 

 

We wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday season and winter!

 

How To Remove Snow From Your Property Safely

Particularly for those of us who grew up in New England, we don’t tend to give a lot of thought to the right way and the wrong way to remove snow. As you’ll learn further on in this post, there’s also a right time and a wrong time to remove snow. Many of us have been shoveling snow since we were kids and trying to help mom and dad get their cars out of the driveway after a big winter storm. In most cases, no-one gave us much training on the “do’s and don’ts” of snow shoveling, and it’s even less likely that someone taught us the safe way to remove snow from a house roof or business roof. But, we’re never too old to learn something new, right?

To make sure all our South Shore MA and Greater Boston area neighbors stay safe this winter, we’re sharing tips & techniques for removing snow the safe way — whether it’s via a shovel or snow blower for driveways, paths, and sidewalks, or a rake for pitched residential roofs or commercial roofs.Removing Snow From Roof -- South Shore Roofing, South Shore MA

SNOW SHOVELING AND SNOW BLOWING SAFETY TIPS & TECHNIQUES

  • Snow shoveling takes a lot of strength, requires you to exert a lot of energy, and is hard on your joints and muscles. You wouldn’t go out and run a couple of miles or bench-press heavy weights if you hadn’t done so in the recent past, would you? You should take the same precautions when it comes to snow shoveling or pushing a snow blower. If you’ve been experiencing chest pain or shortness of breath, or suffer from heart-related or lung-related disease, allocate the chore of snow shoveling or snow blowing to someone who enjoys better health.
  • If you are someone who is physically active and believe you are physically able to snow shovel or snow blow with limited risk of heart attack, be sure to adhere to the following when doing so:
    • Don’t smoke or eat right before or while you are shoveling or pushing a snowblower
    • Stretch well before you start your work, and then take it slow
    • Shovel only light, fresh, powdery snow
    • Push snow vs. lifting it; if you have to lift snow with a shovel, use a small one, or only fill the shovel part of the way — then, lift the shovel with your legs, not with your back
    • Take frequent breaks, and don’t push yourself to the point of physical exhaustion; stay hydrated by keeping a bottle of water nearby
    • Recognize the signs of a heart attack; put down the snow shovel, or turn off and step away from the snow blower, right away; then, call 911
    • Never run a snow blower in an enclosed space, such as a garage, due to carbon monoxide poisoning risk
    • Turn off a snow blower that has jammed — continuing to use it is not safe for a variety of reasons!
    • Keep your hands away from your snow blower’s moving parts
    • Wait until you and your snow blower are outside to add fuel, and never, ever add fuel to your snow blower while it is running
    • Never, ever leave a running snow blower unattended

SNOW RAKING SAFETY TIPS & TECHNIQUES

Did you know wet snow weighs approximately twice as much as dry snow? While most South Shore Massachusetts, and New England home roofs and commercial roofs are designed to handle excess snow, there’s always a risk for structural damage when large quantities of wet snow pile up on your home roof or office roof. And, large, flat roofs pose an even greater risk.

Most city, state, and federal agencies who issue health & wellness guidelines will advise you not to go it alone when it comes to removing snow from your roof/roof raking. Therefore, they will advise you to hire a roofing professional like us; however, if you feel you must tackle removing roof snow on your own, at least recruit a friend or neighbor to help you, and adhere to the following safety measures:

  • Never shovel or rake snow from a roof at a time when family members or other individuals working or living in your building may be exiting or entering the home, apartment building, or office building
  • Use a snow rake for pitched roofs (available at most hardware stores) to remove snow from your pitched roof; start from the edge of your roof and work your way into the middle of the roof
  • Attempt to shave the snow on the roof down, so that 2-3 inches of snow remain, instead of scraping the roof clean — scraping too deep/hard will risk damage to your shingles or other roof covering
  • Keep in mind that any metal tool could conduct electricity if it touches a power line, so if there is any risk of your mistakenly hitting a power line with a metal tool, don’t use one; if not used by a professional, use of metal tools may damage your roof
  • Shovel snow from flat roofs throwing the snow over the side and away from the building; as discussed in our blog post on preventing ice dams, keep gutters and drains free of ice & snow and keep downspouts clean at ground level
  • Unless approved by a registered professional engineer, don’t add the weight of your body or that of a helper’s, or that of equipment to the roof
  • Don’t use a ladder to remove snow from a roof since ice can build up on ladder rungs and the bottom of footwear, increasing risk of slipping
  • Don’t use electric heating devices like hair dryers or heat guns to remove snow & ice; definitely DO NOT use open-flame devices to remove them

Regardless of the New England season, we’ve been helping South Shore Massachusetts and Greater Boston homeowners and business owners with their roofing needs and roofing challenges for many years — including ice dam removal and ice dam prevention. So, bring in the roofing experts when it’s required by contacting our residential roofing services and business roofing services company today!

Be sure to also check out our other “winter safety” blog posts: