Tossing the shingles safely is actually an important step in removing slate shingles.
How to remove a roof slate.
If you are working on a large roofing project place a dumpster on the side of your house and toss all nails and shingles into this receptacle.
A vinyl leaf rake can clean harder to reach spots.
The process for removing a slate roof resembles removing any kind of roof.
Individual hanging slate removal sometimes a good tactic is to place a large 300mm 12 hacksaw blade in a hacksaw blade holder and cut through the two nails that hold the slate rather than use the slate rip and risk further damage.
You do not want these nails to stay on the roof nor do you want to leave them scattered around your yard.
Each of these stages requires different resources and involves its own kinds of costs.
Removing shingles involves moving nails.
Limit cleaning to removing organic debris and delaminated slate flakes from valleys snow guards gutters and the area behind the chimney.
Pull the ripper down the line of the slates in an attempt to break the nail.
How to replace a roof slate.
When removing slates from old roofs quite often the slating lath or batten has become dry and brittle over time this makes it very easy to break when using a slate ripper to pull a slate out or chop the nails fixing the slates.