Homeowners scramble to remove ice from roofs

BANGOR – If you’re looking for your neighbor this weekend, you might want to start on the roof.

With snow and ice buildup making for a leaky combination on many houses throughout the region, homeowners have been taking to their ladders this week, looking to de-ice before the drips drive them crazy.

In Brewer, Robert Dunn’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

“Oh, man. It’s crazy,” said Dunn, owner of Dunn-Right General Contractors, a local outfit that, at this time of year, specializes in snow and ice removal. “We’ve had 40 or 50 calls already and they’re still coming in as we speak.

“We’re doing what we can,” continued Dunn, whose son is working sunrise to sunset to chip through up to 10 inches of ice built up on area roofs.

Bangor Fire Department officials actually suggest that homeowners stay off the roof itself, and either hire a professional or clear the snow using a roof rake from a ladder.

Roof rakes, however, are becoming harder and harder to come by at local hardware stores, with leak-weary homeowners snatching them up faster than you can say, “Hand me another bucket.”

While some local hardware stores just plain sold out of the tool, Sheldon Hartstone at Fairmount Hardware and Home Center on Hammond Street still has a bunch, he said.

“Every other call, it’s, ‘Do you have a roof rake?'” Hartstone said Friday. “They’re going fast.”

At Home Depot, after running out of roof rakes a few weeks ago, staff had to make last-minute arrangements with a Brewer company to keep the tool in stock.

“We’re selling the heck out of them,” said store manager Tom Magee, who estimated that they’ve sold $3,000 to $4,000 in roof rakes during the last two weeks. “It’s unbelievable.”

Bangor firefighters also have been busy this past week, responding to a few calls from homeowners worried about the leaks.

Fire officials urged caution when clearing the snow, noting that a number of people fall off or damage their roofs every winter while chipping and shoveling away.

Magee said he’ll be among those looking to clear the icy mess from his three-story house on Birch Street this weekend.

“The water’s running right down the wall cavity near my picture window,” he said. “I have to do something about it.”