What type of tear-off tool do you prefer

hellbilly

It dosn't tear the shingles into tiny bits like other shovels. And the deeper teeth dont slip off nails when prying them up as easy as other shovels. I have used other shovels that do work good bub are a lot heavier then the rippers.

hellbilly

And the head angle is very good on them so a lot less bending way over to pry. I have not seen you other tools There are only a few places in the area that carry the rippers

acc

shingle eater works for us

flashingmaster56

I like the four prong potato fork to remove the shingles, then we come back with the shingle eater to get the nails.

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acc

We found shingle eaters are the best for shingles so we can remove nails as we go save you from coming back, we use wood forks for wood shakes.

roofbutcher

If you like the potato fork, it might be worth taking a look at Razor Bar. Not limited by tooth length, it has infinite penetration for long strokes on rough deck. Its tempered steel teeth tend to self-sharpen and will deliver high performance for many tear off jobs.

Nice looking brake btw.

Grumpy

I hate using them for tearing off shingles personally. Yes it seems like less work so you don't have to go back and pull nails, but I find we tear off more per push with the pitch forks and it's not at all that time consuming to follow with the eater to get the nails. Nothing's worse than constantly smacking the nails with the eater when you're trying to rip.

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-Grumpy
Chicago Gutters Chicago Roofing

MGP Roofing

I use a flat garden spade and then go back over the area with a claw hammer to pull the nails. I want something better for the wood shingle tear offs, most of them here are fixed with narrow crown staples which are a pain to remove from the battens after the shingles are off. I use a cats paw for this which works but isn't ideal, slips off the staples too easy and frequently sends them flying all over resulting in a big cleanup that at times includes the neighbours properties!
Any recommendations? Anything I get will have to come from the US as they're not available here in NZ.

roofbutcher

Wooden shingle stapled to slat, Hmmm...

Provided that the slats were at least 3 1/2 inches wide, I'd pull out the power stripper. Those staple jobs can be pretty tough depending on the specifics.

The staples will still need to be dealt with. A (welder's) grinder will make short work of them, but may pose a fire hazard. Be careful. I usually use either end-nips, or just bend them over with a hammer, depending on who's looking

dougger222

Only use pitch forks. It's tough to find thin wide tines but now we just buy them and put them on the grinder before they gon the roof.

I wished you could still get the good ones.

I have toothy shovels too. They work great for pulling nails. As far as ripping shingles? Way slower than a pitch fork!