Removing Tar and Gravel Roof

I am a homeowner who is about to embark on a remodeling project. Among other things, I will be removing the tar and gravel flat roof and replacing it with a shingled hip roof. Problem is, I have never worked with tar and gravel nor even watched someone else do it.

My plan is to hire some day laborers to help me remove the existing roof so they are unlikely to know any more about it than I do. My assumption is that it is not really stuck to the roof decking except in spots where the tar has leaked through and that it can be removed with flat edged shovels and the like and lots of elbow grease.

The problem that concerns me most is how to cut this stuff up in order to get it in the dumpster. With one continuous sheet roughly 30 x 50 feet it will obviously have to be cut into smaller pieces for handling. How is this done? I'm betting it takes more than just a utility knife to cut it. Is there some trick to it? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

TIA,

Jim

Reply to
Swarfman123
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Jim wrote:>I am a homeowner who is about to embark on a remodeling project. Among other

Lift up a corner, bend it over and it'll break off. Enjoy! Tom Work at your leisure!

Reply to
Tom

|My plan is to hire some day laborers to help me remove the existing roof so |they are unlikely to know any more about it than I do. My assumption is that it |is not really stuck to the roof decking except in spots where the tar has |leaked through and that it can be removed with flat edged shovels and the like |and lots of elbow grease.

FWIW, the last time my tar & gravel roof was done they did use tar to stick down the first layer of paper on all the overhangs so no exposed nails would protrude below. There were no visible nail heads before, so either the last job was done similarly or they used short nails...

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Reply to
Dan Lanciani

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