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Shingle Tear-Off Tools: Bogus or Backsavers?

Ed Pirnik, producer

22 users recommend

In the case of roofing, while the actual installation of shingles can be a rather zen-like, and sometimes even pleasant experience, the tear-off process is perhaps one of the most wretched jobs presented to a contracter.

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A recent video posted at Fine Homebuilding.com showing a rather odd-ball method for stripping shingles from a roof got me thinking. Human nature dictates that when confronted with any kind of unpleasant job, people will react in one of two ways:

1) Avoid the task.

2) Come up with any number of wacky ways to speed up the process.

In the case of roofing, while the actual installation of shingles can be a rather zen-like, and sometimes even pleasant experience, the tear-off process is perhaps one of the most wretched jobs presented to a contracter. It's hot, dirty, back-breaking work, and our video of a Zoom Boom operator using the bucket of his machine to strip row after row of cedar shingles was akin to a toddler tearing off a scab - notice how my mind automatically equates a tear-off with an injury? Yeah, there's a reason for that.

While the traditional method for tearing off an old roof involves using a toothed shovel as a pry bar, ingenious (read "crazy") arm chair inventors have come up with a wide variety of tools to get the job done. Ranging from the ridiculous, to the righteous, these often homegrown widgets are certainly worthy of a look. Here's my roundup of a few of the more interesting ones.

	Razor Bar Of the six tools I looked into, the Razor Bar is perhaps the most similar to the traditional shingle shovel. One of the main differences lay in the fact that the traditional shovel uses a lever action to lift roofing material, while the Razor Bar acts more like a wedge. Video demonstrations of the tool look pretty promising and we'll be hearing more about this tool from a contributor who will be testing it out in the coming months. $54.99
	Air Razor Bar The Razor Bar's big brother is simply a penumatic version which does the "slamming" for you - 2,000 times a minute, to be exact. I've also seen video demonstrations with the product being used to tear off old siding. $59.99 (Tool head only. Manufacturer's website is unclear regarding the rest of the device).
	Rapid Roof Remover Billed as a machine which can remove both roofing and flooring material, the Rapid Roof Remover is also powered pneumatically. It functions under the same principal used by a traditional shingle shovel: a pneumatically controlled blade is pushed beneath the material and then lifted up to separate shingles from the sheathing. The manufacturer suggests roofers first score the shingles every 30-inches with a circular saw before beginning the tear-off, which brings me to the next entry. $1,895
	Rip Cart While it isn't exactly a roof "tear-off" tool, the Rip Cart is meant to help in the preparation process. Essentially a wheeled frame for a conventional circular saw, the Rip Cart is pushed along a roof in order to score sections of shingles for easier removal. If anything, however, I can't help but wonder if this is simply adding yet another step to the process which might not be necessary. $499.99
	Lil Doozie Another machine using a sort of lever action was the Lil Doozie. The video demonstrations didn't leave my convinced however. The device seems under-powered (perhaps pneumatic is the way to go?) and the decals certainly don't add a thing to the tool's usefulness. Price not available.
	Shingles Peeler Of all six shingle-removal tools I looked into, the Shingles Peeler got me the most excited. I fear however, that part of that excitement may be a simple reaction to the flashy marketing video the manufacturers of this tool air on their website. With this device, the operator walks up the roofline while towing the tool, which actually pulls itself up. The shingles Peeler scores 12" strips as it travels, lifting shingles and nails at the same time. The video demonstration is pretty incredible but I can't help but wonder if this device is prone to frequent clogs and jams. $4,300

In the end, I think I'd put my money on the Razor Bar, and we'll be testing it out in the near future. The Shingles Peeler holds promise but at over $4K, it's a hefty investment. One other pitfall is the warranty. My gut tells me that 90 days simply isn't enough time on a machine that's going to see as much abuse as this one.

We're curious to find out which of these products hold the most interest for our readers. Be sure to sound off in the poll below and tell us about your own experiences in the comments section.

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Comments (9)

ToolsThatWork writes: I own a Rapi roof remover and must say that I have used it roofs and on flooring, it's one of the best machines I have ever bought. It uses 120 psi and is a great addition to the tool chest !
Posted: 9:17 pm on January 13th

fixit10101 writes: The Razor Bar is the cat's meow! This summer my son and I stripped my daughter's roof; four layers of nasty old shingles on a 5 pitch hip roof (with a 90 degree dining room add-on, so actually two hip roofs). 1685 sq. ft.

Took us 1 1/2 days-with two days of rain in between. And that includes using a shingle ripper from Menards just to pull left-over nails(it had nice notched teeth, which is why we used it).

The razor bar performed just like the videos on their site; and the cost was reasonable.

You can't go wrong with the Razor Bar.

Posted: 9:09 pm on October 11th

Done_got_old writes: I'm not a roofer, but I have done a lot of roofing and tear-offs. My dad was a builder and he always used garden forks...the kind with a stirrup handle and four flat tines about a 1/2 inch wide. We just shoved them up under the shingles and pushed down on the handle to pop the nails, then repeated the process over and over.

I suspect my dad used garden forks because he already had them in the tool shed, and didn't want to spend money on toothed shovels. In my opinion, they worked better anyway. The tines were wide enough that they didn't tear through the shingles, but narrow enough to slip between the nails so you could loosen two or three rows of shingles. The curvature of the tines supplied just he right amount of leverage to lift the shingles, nails and all. Garden fork design seems more suited for shingle removal than its intended use.

My brother and I would compete to see who could loosen the largest section of shingles before they let loose and slid off the roof.
Posted: 5:50 pm on October 11th

berferdt writes: This is another rerun. It even has the same promise of a forthcoming report of the tests that these tools will be put through.
I noticed the pictures and video would provide good evidence for safety violation charges. I would guess that even these guys would realize fear if they had to drag a powered cutter or stipping machine across or up a 9:12 roof with a deteriorated surface.
The ripper looks like it leaves the nails behind. Shovels, and things derived from them, can lift the nails so that resetting them isn't an extra step.
Even with simple tools, I'd still rather be up on the roof tearing off than be on the ground filling the roll-off.
Posted: 4:55 pm on October 11th

AbrahamsonServices writes: Well just like the perfect deer rifle there is no right answer to that. Pitch of the roof, weight and even what it takes to get it up on the roof are all factors. I have a variety of tear off tools but like the malco monster and AJC tear off tool with replaceable teeth and slide plates. The latter I have shortened ones for steep tear offs. I think the rip cart could make the multi layer tear offs faster but unlike their propoganda it is still cutting and will still make a mess like we do when we retro in ridgevent. It will make the roof black and the workers grubby. Now I have a gutster also, but that, a craftsman twin-cutter and a 16# digging bar are my OH you bastard tools. I pretty much run the gamut from 5" hive or painters tools to a power pro prodigy to get things apart.
Posted: 9:09 pm on August 17th

RoofersWorld writes: Your list is not complete without the Red Ripper.

* reduces tear-off time by up to 30%
* lightweight at only 4 1/2 lbs
* dual action teeth to pry nails
* made with heavy duty hardwood ash handle and heat treated carbon-based spring steel

Find more information at http://www.roofersworld.com/redripper.htm
Posted: 11:42 am on September 16th

wenkoe writes: What's available for flat roof Built Up Asphalt Roofing, especially peeling off 6-12" wide strips for fastening 2x4 blocking directly to the plywood deck? My efforts with circular saws just jammed asphalt into the saw's spindle, etc.
Posted: 8:09 am on September 1st

SmartmanTools writes: The RipCart is our product, but we wanted to chime in and give our opinion on why the RipCart may deserve a second look.

The RipCart may be adding a step, but adding one relatively easy step to cut your time in half on "one of the most wretched jobs presented to a contracter" is well worth it.

Here are 2 reasons we believe the RipCart is different from other shingle tear off tools.
1. Less Mess - Other tear off tools may be able to separate the shingles from the wood, but they all create massive amounts of debris that are difficult and time consuming to clean up. The RipCart allows you to quickly tear off manageable sections that stack together for a fast clean up. The shingles, tar paper and nails usually stick together because the shingles do not have to be ripped apart. Clean up is much faster because many of the small pieces are eliminated and there are fewer stray nails to clean up.

2. Multi-layer Tear Off - Some of the other tear off tools only show a one layer tear off. The RipCart can cut up to 3 layers of shingles at one time to allow you to tear 3 layers of shingles, nails and tar paper all at once. In our experience, multi-layer shingle roofs that are cut into manageable sections tear-off and clean up to 50% faster than uncut roofs.

The RipCart was developed out of necessity by a roofing contractor that has been tearing off shingle roofs for 30 years and cutting up multi-layer shingle roofs for the past 10. He was inspired by commercial roofers who have been cutting up flat roofs for years.

Once you try the RipCart you will not want to tear again with out it, but in case you do it is backed by our money back guarantee. It takes about 15 minutes to cut 15 squares. The RipCart is also great for cutting ridge vent openings, roof decks for total demolition, and shingle overlays on hips and ridges.

Watch the video demonstration for yourself at www.ripcart.com
Posted: 2:22 am on September 1st

PutnamEco writes: I'm usually just doing repairs, so I prefer a manually operated tool over pneumatic one.
I hope you all include more than one manual option.
I like the longest handled Gutster demo tool.

I could think of using the rip cart in more ways than just roofing
Posted: 10:18 am on August 28th

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