# Shingle tear off machine



## ROOFMAX (Jul 4, 2009)

any body used or have coments about rapid roof remover ,


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Well, I think we have discussed this or other very similiar pneumatic products in the past. As far as I am concerned it's not really a time nor labor saver on the average job. If you watch the video they recommend you first cut up the roof in sections with a circular saw. I think someone said it best, perhaps Axiom, Roofing is made of of simple minds and cheap labor. Really I can see no cost savings with a tool like this for removing shingles.

Ok let's really think about it, it's useless on the really hard steep tear offs. EZ walk tear offs are simple and require labor yes, but not much overall time to remove. Let's see this in action on a 10/12. 

I'd love to try it but don't wanna spend the bucks to try it. If they came to a job site and let me try it I would. Maybe on a 100 square shingle tear off you may experience some labor savings but any of us shingle roofs will tell you those are few and far between. 

I am NOT saying it is a bad idea. Roofing tear off is HARD WORK, as we all know, however is this really that much easier? It'd be like setting up and using a compressor on a 1 square repair. Thatr seems il-logical. I have no first hand knowledge using this machine. Just call me doubting Thomas.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a laser or teleporter or somethign that'd tear off the shingles for us, perhaps robots? I drool at the thought.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

One more thing, if you watch the video where are their protection tarps and fall protections?!?!


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## ROOFMAX (Jul 4, 2009)

i bought a shingle shurker 14 years ago worst investment i made didnt work. had teeth that chew up the decking, i saw the video on this one . thought maybe. it might work. will not buy one until im for sure it the real deal. any body out there goy one.


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## Ed the Roofer (Sep 15, 2008)

ROOFMAX said:


> i bought a shingle shurker 14 years ago worst investment i made didnt work. had teeth that chew up the decking, i saw the video on this one . thought maybe. it might work. will not buy one until im for sure it the real deal. any body out there goy one.


They may have an opportunity to let you try one out on a job first before you buy it outright.

Ed


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## roofbutcher (Sep 16, 2009)

Ah yes, the power stripper, the Holy Grail of roofers’ tools. 

There have been several attempts over the years, but most of them overlook a few key concepts. First of all is that a four foot lever (the shovel handle) is plenty of "machine" to pull nails, and it has no cumbersome hoses, cords, motors, or pistons. The problem is not pulling the nails, but rather gripping them sufficiently when under power.


In order to gain an advantage over a hand tool, the power tool must be able to apply large amounts of POWER to the task. Yes, one way would be to use a very wide (24 inch) blade Unfortunately, the wider the blade, the less it takes to entangle it, much like a long-wheelbase truck on rough terrain.


Here are a couple attempts at the "pop head" shingle shovel:
*Lil Doozie* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHA1VRlDVGU
*Roof Razor* http://www.roofrazorllc.com/


Here’s the super-wide version:
*Rapid Roof Remover *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDoz5v7qBBs


This beast also provides the thrusting action, better strap on that harness:
*Demolition Demon *http://web.mac.com/easydaytools/Demolition_Demon/Welcome.html


There ARE some guys who have learned from the above lessons and have approached the solution from "outside the box"


This one is not a tear-off tool per se, but may well come in handy:
*Rip Cart *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c75tZzRkD9I&feature=related


Although application-limited, this one has some mighty impressive videos:
*Shingles Peeler* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX5zzvpKtN8&feature=channel

*
*My invention, watch the videos and judge for yourself:
*Air Razor* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8adWzQlJGoY


The best for last. Meet the king of tear off.
*All hail the king! *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkZZvDHTty4


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## RoofingSafety (Oct 5, 2009)

The Red Ripper. Rip shingles and peel nails in seconds. Save 30% on labour. Reduce back strain. Only $60 for a shingle removal tool that will get the job done quickly and efficiently. http://www.roofersworld.com/redripper.htm


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## roofbutcher (Sep 16, 2009)

RoofingSafety said:


> The Red Ripper. Rip shingles and peel nails in seconds. Save 30% on labour. Reduce back strain. Only $60 for a shingle removal tool that will get the job done quickly and efficiently. http://www.roofersworld.com/redripper.htm


Not a bad looking shovel, your Red Ripper. I like the picket-fence teeth, they’ll work very well. I also like the reverse-blade and striking surface, they will get you through much adversity. It also looks wonderfully lightweight.


All it needs to be a great ripper is a reduced working angle, somewhere around 12-15 degrees. I don’t mean to hack on your tool because it does have the best features of all the shovels I’ve tried, so please, bear with me.


Firstly, the most overlooked fact when designing these rippers is that most of the effort is expended on the thrust (slam) and NOT on the lift (pry). With a steep angle like that, you can’t get your full body behind the tool, so the arms and upper body (back) tire quickly. Secondly, the lower angle will provide more REACH, which is very handy on a steep-staged roof. Third, the reduced angle will make both your reverse-blade and your striking surface more effective. Lastly, the suggested angle will make your tool one-handable for even more reach and great videos of guys running dual rippers!


Keep your fulcrum as close to the forward cutting edge as possible, leaving just enough lift to barely pull a spike. This will minimize effort on the pry and maximize sweet spot. Your current pattern looks pretty good on this.


For $60, I’m assuming it’s a tempered steel blade so it’s performance will last more than just a few roofs. You can go about 50 points of carbon without running into welding issues.


Yeah I know, you gotta change your tooling, but fix that angle and you’ll have the best performance of all the many shovels on the market. I’ve been through it on my rippers, and can tell you that it’s well worth it.


Good luck to you on your ripper. Hope to see you around.


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## ROOFWORKSLTD (Jan 15, 2010)

The Red Rippers work well. It is all I currently use.
I work them hard and they seem to handle it, guys love them as well. 

When I'm ripping I like to make small piles with the garbage then go back with the ripper and it doubles as a shovel. As long as the tear off is decent.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

I had something similiar to the red ripper but nobody liked it, myself included.


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## flashingmaster56 (Dec 17, 2009)

*$4,600.00*

I called the Canadian manufacturer to get a quote. $4,600.00 plus shipping. About $3000.00 more than I would pay. It only removes one layer at a time. 99% of our work is multi layers.


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## ROOFMAX (Jul 4, 2009)

WELL I DID BUY ONE. doesnt work on every roof, but the ones that it does work on makes it worth the investment, thanking about buying another one. glad i got it.


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## ROOFMAX (Jul 4, 2009)

oh i was refurning to the rapid roof remover


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## RoofingSafety (Oct 5, 2009)

roofbutcher said:


> Not a bad looking shovel, your Red Ripper. I like the picket-fence teeth, they’ll work very well. I also like the reverse-blade and striking surface, they will get you through much adversity. It also looks wonderfully lightweight.
> 
> 
> All it needs to be a great ripper is a reduced working angle, somewhere around 12-15 degrees. I don’t mean to hack on your tool because it does have the best features of all the shovels I’ve tried, so please, bear with me.
> ...


We really appreciate your feedback. We are continually seeking roofers opinions on improving roofing tools to make their work easier as roof tear-off is very exhausting and dangerous. 

The Red Ripper has actually been designed by a roofer so it includes features that reduce strain, maximize leverage and speed up time. We often get comments from users that admit once they use the tool once you cannot "pry" it out of their hands.

The great thing about using a hand tear off tool rather than an automatic machine is that is can be used for several applications. For example, a powerful tear off tool can be used for removing flooring, siding, tiles etc.


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