Shingles Peeler Makes Roof Tear-Off Easy

Shingles Peeler Makes Roof Tear-Off Easy BUILDINGS New Techniques 34-5-10 The Shingles Peeler looks like a lawn mower for your roof. Designed to eliminate the difficult job of tearing off old roofs by hand, Rob Stuart of Milton, Vt., is the U.S. distributor of the unusual machine. "I farmed for 27 years before I got into roofing," says Stuart. "Tearing off old roofs by hand is a lot harder than farming." He went looking for a better way and discovered the Shingles Peeler. Stuart made four trips to Canada to convince the inventor he would be a good U.S. distributor. "It picks the shingles up, pulls nails out, cuts the shingles, and sends everything out the back of the machine. And it's fast," Stuart says. To begin, remove the cap and top three rows of shingles. Place anchors in the rafters on the opposite roof and attach the Shingles Peeler cable. Push the machine to the bottom of the eave, start the engine and place the fork assembly under the second row of shingles. Then engage the winch, apply the gas and guide the machine up to the peak. Carbide steel blades on both ends cut the shingles and the fork teeth lift and deflect around nails. If the shingles are fairly decent, they hold together in a foot-wide ribbon that can be gathered up and tossed in a bin or truck below. Older, curled up shingles can be scooped into totes or gathered in an optional container that attaches to the Shingles Peeler. "The beauty of this is its simplicity," Stuart says. "I am very impressed with the quality of the construction and engineering." A video and on-line manual explains how to use the machine, and there's a learning curve. It took Stuart an hour to do one side of his first roof and only 9 minutes to do the other side. "It removes a bundle of shingles a minute," he says. The process goes especially fast with one person running the machine and a couple workers moving the shingles. The biggest challenge is very hot days when the shingles stick to the tarpaper, and don't flow through as easily. Remove shingles early in the day or in cooler temperatures, Stuart suggests. Shingles Peeler doesn't work on half lap roofing or flat roofing and is recommended only for walkable roofs ù up to a 6/12 pitch. While the machine could go steeper, it's not safe for workers. When not in use Shingles Peeler has three contact points on the roof so it can't fall off. Stuart sells Shingles Peeler for $4,700 to U.S. customers. Canadians can purchase them from the inventor at MatriX Evolutions, Inc. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rob Stuart, Roofers' Helpers LLC, P.O. Box 170, Milton, Vt. 05468 (ph 802 363-0040; www.roofershelpers.com); in Canada: MatriX Evolutions, Inc., 1635 rue St. Denis, Sorel-Tracy, Quebec J3R 2A8 (ph 450 517-3131; www.shinglespeeler.net).

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