Roof Snake Tool: How Do You Remove a Single Shingle?

When a massive tree branch crashes onto your roof and shatters a single asphalt shingle, it creates a highly stressful dilemma. You do not need to spend $15,000 to replace the entire roof, but repairing a single shingle is incredibly difficult. Asphalt shingles overlap each other in a complex, tightly nailed grid, and the blazing summer sun melts them together into a solid sheet. If you aggressively rip out the damaged shingle, you will destroy the three perfectly good shingles surrounding it. To perform surgical, delicate repairs, professional roofers rely on a highly specialized piece of metal: the roof snake tool.

Before you climb a ladder to patch a hole in your roof, you should know exactly how much a full replacement would cost, just in case the damage is extensive. Use our Free Roofing Calculator right now to compute your exact roof surface area and generate a flawless material estimate in seconds.

Table of Contents

1. What is a Roof Snake Tool?
2. Why You Cannot Use a Crowbar
3. How to Remove the Hidden Nails (The Shingle Nail Puller)
4. How to Use the Shingle Installation Tool
5. Conclusion: The Surgical Repair
6. Frequently Asked Questions

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What is a Roof Snake Tool?

A roof snake (often branded as a shingle snake or a shingle repair tool) is an incredibly thin, flat, specialized piece of hardened steel designed explicitly for sliding between tightly glued layers of asphalt shingles.

It is usually about 12 to 15 inches long.

• The Puller End: One end features a deep, sharp V-notch (a cat’s paw) designed to hook and pull out rusted nails.
• The Installer End: The opposite end features a highly unique, flat metal slot (the nail-driving head) designed to help you hammer a new nail into a tight space without hitting the shingles above it.

Why You Cannot Use a Crowbar

To remove a single damaged shingle, you must pull out the nails holding it down. However, the nails holding it down are completely hidden underneath the good shingle directly above it.

If you try to wedge a massive, thick crowbar or a hammer claw underneath the good shingle, you will bend the asphalt too far backward, instantly cracking the fiberglass mat and ruining a second shingle.

The roof snake is practically paper-thin. You can slide it completely flat underneath the good shingle, allowing you to reach the hidden nails without bending or lifting the good shingle more than half an inch.

How to Remove the Hidden Nails (The Shingle Nail Puller)

Here is the exact surgical procedure for removing a damaged shingle:

1. Break the Tar Seal: First, use the flat blade of the roof snake to gently slice through the sticky tar line that has glued the damaged shingle to the good one above it.
2. Slide and Hook: Slide the V-notch of the shingle nail puller directly underneath the good shingle. Feel around blindly until the sharp V-notch hooks around the hidden nail holding the damaged shingle in place.
3. Pop the Nail: Once the nail is hooked, aggressively strike the back of the roof snake with a hammer, or simply pry backward. The massive leverage of the flat steel will pop the nail completely out of the wood deck, allowing you to pull the damaged shingle free.

How to Use the Shingle Installation Tool

Removing the broken shingle is only half the battle. Now, you must slide a brand-new shingle into the hole and nail it down.

Here is the problem: you have to hammer a nail into the new shingle, but the good shingle above it is in the way. If you swing a hammer, you will smash the good shingle.

This is where the genius of the roof snake shines:

1. You slide the new shingle into place.
2. You place a new roofing nail into the special flat magnetic slot on the “installer end” of the roof snake.
3. You slide the flat tool (with the nail in it) underneath the good shingle.
4. You strike the exposed back of the roof snake tool with your hammer. The kinetic energy travels down the flat steel and drives the hidden nail perfectly flush, completely protecting the good shingle above it from the hammer blows.

Conclusion: The Surgical Repair

Attempting to patch an asphalt roof with bulky demolition tools is a recipe for disaster. A single cracked shingle will quickly turn into a massive 10-foot tear if you are not careful. By investing $30 in a specialized roof snake tool, you can slide invisibly between the layers of asphalt, surgically extract the broken pieces, and install a brand new shingle flawlessly, rendering the repair completely invisible from the street.

If you get onto the roof and realize the entire slope is crumbling and brittle, a patch will not save you. Head over to our Free Roofing Calculator right now. By inputting your home’s basic dimensions, the tool will instantly output your exact total square footage, giving you the flawless data required to order a complete set of new roofing materials.

Related Guides

• Pry Bar vs Crow Bar: Which Demolition Tool is Best?
• Nail Puller: Best Nail Extraction Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pull the nails from two rows of shingles?

Yes. This is a crucial detail that trips up many beginners. Because asphalt shingles overlap, the nails in the row above the damaged shingle also penetrate the top edge of the damaged shingle. You must use the roof snake to pull the nails holding the broken shingle, AND the nails holding the good shingle directly above it, before the broken piece will slide out.

Why is the new shingle not sticking down?

When you break the factory tar seal to remove the old shingle, the good shingle above it loses its adhesive bond. It will now flap in the wind. After you install the new shingle, you must take a caulk gun loaded with specialized exterior roofing cement (plastic roof cement) and place three large dabs of tar under the flap of the old shingle to glue it securely back down.

Can I repair a roof in the winter?

It is highly dangerous and difficult. In freezing temperatures, the asphalt and fiberglass in a shingle become incredibly brittle. Even if you use a thin roof snake, simply lifting the good shingle a quarter-inch to slide the tool underneath will cause the frozen shingle to violently crack in half. You should always wait for a warm, sunny day to perform roof repairs so the shingles are soft and flexible.