Home Garden

DIY Removal of a Shingled Roof

If the shingles on your roof are old, worn or coming off, it may be time to remove and replace them. When the shingles are in poor condition, they leave your home susceptible to water damage. You don’t need to call in a professional to remove the shingled roof. With the right tools and technique, you can remove the shingles yourself for a fraction of the cost.

Things You'll Need

  • Shingle scraper
  • Push broom
  • Claw-tooth hammer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Position a shingle scraper under a section of shingles. Start anywhere on the roof you would like and work in any direction. A shingle scraper is a shovel-like tool with a flat blade and large teeth. The heel at the bottom of the shovels helps to lift the shingles off the roof.

    • 2

      Push the scraper forcefully under the shingles. Lift up on the shingle scraper to remove that section of shingles.

    • 3

      Continue this process over the entire roof until all of the shingles have been removed. Sweep the roof with a push broom to remove smaller pieces of debris.

    • 4

      Remove any remaining nails with a claw-tooth hammer. Although the shingle scraper works well at removing the nails when it removes the shingles, there will likely be some stragglers that it doesn’t get up.