what is the safest way to climb a roof?

I have a leak in my Cape Cod style house and need to check the flashing around the chimney and dormers. I don't have any experience climbing roofs but am wary that a loss of balance will find me eating dirt and looking at white coats when I wake up. Should I hammer steps into the roof? I notice that's what roofers do but I don't want to compromise the waterproof integrity of the roof. I could also lasso the chimney and tie it around my waist. Just wondering if there is a simple safety measure out there that homeowners know that I don't.

Reply to
Joe
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Bottom line: confidence is everthing, if you are uncomfortable then you may want to hire who is paid to go up there rather than risk your personal neck.

What is the pitch of the roof? Do you own an extension ladder that will reach the eaves? On steep roofs that are unwalkable I might use a series of planks and ladder jacks to get up there. If you don't own or want to own these tools then that's another reason to hire someone.

Another way is to buy a special ladder that will hook over the ridge. We called it a "chicken ladder" on the crew I was on presumably since you have to be a chicken to need it, haha. You could easily spend several hundred dollars for ladders and planks if the house is big and the roof is steep so think about it.

Reply to
Lawrence

Yeah, a traumatic spine injury is a lousy way to learn that gravity sucks. If you are on the north side of 30, have no experience climbing roofs (especially 12-12 Cape Cods), and don't have a warm fuzzy about all this, I strongly recommend hiring the work out. (I say over 30 because us grownups don't heal up near as well or quick as we did when we were kids.) If you don't already have the long ladders. roof jacks, etc, renting or buying those would cost more than paying a roofing company for a site survey. If they do the repair work, they will probably credit you for the inspection. Walk around neighborhood during outdoor hours, look for similar roofs to yours, and ask those folks who they have used, and if the work was done well. Steep roofs are a lot harder than the usual 5-12 or so a ranch has, especially when you get 20' off the ground.

aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

If you are only concerned about safety, the best way would be to buy a safety harness/rope. They are not hard to find...even Menards sells them where I live. Tying a rope around your waist doesn't cut it--if you fall at best you'll wind up upside down and then slip out of the noose and crack your head. I wouldn't lasso the chimney--you might fall, break off a chunk and get that on your head---after you hit the ground! It's best if the rope is somehow anchored to the peak, but it can be tossed over the peak and anchored to something on the other side, like a car bumper (But take the keys out!) The trouble is, once you get up there, you need some way to free up your hands to work, so the rope idea doesn't really do you that much good in the end--unless you fall!.

You could buy some "roof jacks" which slide under the tab of a shingle and are held with nails. With care, you won't damage your roof. The hard part is prying up the shingles, which will be sealed down. The other option is a ladder hook, which is a hook that fastens to the top of a ladder and can be pushed up the roof. I'd use roof jacks if it was me. They are inexpensive and safe if properly installed.

Reply to
marson

i seriously recommend you hire a pro.

look at it this way. lets say you fall and are off 6 months recovering or even 3 months.

that means the cost of doing the roof job and likely not completing it can be 1/3 or 1/2 your annual income, and perhaps more if you become permanetely disabled. now add in the pro cost if you fall and havent completed the job.

let alone the damage if the repair isnt done properly. replacing drywall, insulation, mold etc etc.

I have done some limited stuff on roofs but leave the pro work to the professionals

Reply to
hallerb

Frankly I suggest hiring someone. Cap Cods have have steep roofs and if you are not comfortable you are actually more likely to have an accident. The guys who know what they are doing don't have the problem, but you will. There was a time I finally got comfortable on a roof, but today I am not, I would not go up again. Life is short enough as it is.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Simple and safe is what I do these days. It is called "writing a check". You call a pro, he climbs, you write the check. Very simple very safe.

I used to think nothing of going up on the roof but after I passed 50, I did it much less and past 55, I've not been up there. Capes are a steeper pitch than mine so I'd probably have stopped closer to 40 on them.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

So a cape cod has a 1:1 roof? Someone else said so. Even though I can imagine it now, I don't think everyone knows this, and it's an essential point to your question.

Also, be sure to wear the right shoes. With laces that tie, no loafers. Tied well. Ankle high probably gives more stability. Rubber or gum soles, not leather, and probably with some indentations or ridges in the soles, which iiuc wouldn't help on dry surfaces**, except in this case with shingles, there can be loose shingle particles to slip on.

The ladder should go 3 or 4 feet above the edge of the roof. It's pretty easy to get off a ladder that stops at the gutter, onto the roof. It's a heck of a lot harder to get back on the ladder. With my more shallow roof, it's the hardest and scariest and most dangerous part of the whole thing. If only my knee bent in both directions, it would be easy, but it won't bend that way. With 3 or 4 feet of ladder above the edge, it's pretty easy to step onto the ladder, facing the middle of the roof and stepping to the side.

I think you can make a ladder to hook on to the crest of the roof yoursself, from a straight ladder, or the top half of an extension ladder, (maybe even the bottom half, although I think I would tie up the pivoting legs so they didn't catch on something when you were trying) but someone here discussed adding something near the top to act as a hook. Probably even a ladder stand-off, the U shaped thing that is clamped on to the top of a ladder (I don't know the name it goes by), to span windows so one can paint above them, and to make it easier to use a short ladder to clean gutters, in houses with eaves one foot or greater, where otherwise one's forehead would be touching the gutter or even under the eave. I haven't used this on the roof but it is wonderful for gutter work. If I had more but narrower windows, it would be wonderful for painting the house.

They sell these in a couple widths, although no place I went had 14 inches off, only about 10 these days for some reason, which would be fine for your roof work I think but not as good when leaning against a wall. Mine is old, and maybe they don't make that size in the simple version anymore.

They also make one adjustable version, that I couldn't find at any bigbox or ACE hardware around here, but is available on line.

I wouldn't tie myself to a chimney, brick or metal. The strongest lateral forces they get are the wind, and you might be a lottt more than that, and they might be ready to fail anyhow. I wouldn't test them either. You'll either break it or won't do a sufficient test.

**Which is why a lot of racing tires are "slicks".

It's wise to be careful. I had a friend from work in his 50's who fell off his roof. His wife was washing dishes at the sink with a window and saw him fly by. Only a story and a half iirc and he only broke his leg, but it wouldn't heal. He was on one crutch for weeks and weeks and had to plug himself into an electric device each evening when he got home, or maybe overnight. Either he retired or I changed jobs. I should have kept in touch.

Reply to
mm

Give that man a gold star!

Excellent advice really. It's nice to see for yourself what could be wrong, but unless you know what you're looking for and are positive you can fix it - it cheaper, faster, better to pay an expert to do their job. If you're asking for advice on how to climb a ladder, I would question your ability to fix roofing problems.

Not that I'm the king of ladders. In fact I asked this very same question some 9 months ago while trying to clean my gutters. My roof is only a 1:4 or 1:3 - shallow and simple to walk on - even still one slip on moss or loose shingles and I wouldn't be able to stop before tumbling off.

Reply to
Eigenvector

I expect by now you have given up on the idea. Nothing to be ashamed of, I can't do it either.

Last year I needed to get up on the roof to fix a piece of trim; but I just couldn't do it, so I asked a friend. When he hammered on the trim some wasps came out and he went running across the roof, flailing his arms at the wasps. And there I was, standing on the ground, even afraid to stand up there. Well, maybe there is something to be ashamed of; it must be a lot safer than it looks.

Reply to
Toller

"Not@home" wrote

Exactly!

Reply to
Russ Thurman

So you call it a "chicken ladder". Chimney sweep used one on my roof in January when there was some snow. He did not have a helper so I hung around to watch him. "Chicken ladder" slipped and would have slid off roof with him on it if I had not held onto ladder used to get on roof. Did not hire him for subsequent work which I could have done myself but at my age and taking blood thinners I hired another chimney guy to do the work.

Frank

Reply to
Frank

And tell everyone else who has keys that they should NOT drive the car until you say so.

Might be a good idea to check with someplace that sells supplies for climbers, if going with the rope approach. They should know about rope selection for this, and the best ways to attach yourself to the rope, and they will probably have some kind of useful quick-release mechanism for the case where you need to get off the rope, fast (like if someone forgets about you and drives off while you are roped to the car!).

Reply to
Tim Smith

Not good enough. The car would need to be disabled (distributor cap removed or something similar).

Reply to
Dan C

For the OP, I agree with the others- steep roofs are no joke. I grew up in a climbing family, and still have some equipment. My roof is moderate pitch, and I still use harness as described above if working near the edge. With slings and caribiners, and rope thrown over roof and secured to tree, I can generally get security and flexibility of movement- helps if you have an ascender or like me grew up before these things and learned how to tie prussic knots, etc. Was up a few weeks ago to do spring roof work- had noticed my skylight was starting to leak during winter insulation work, and even though I'd seen leak from the inside, it was darned hard to see on the outside as others warn. I think I got it as it was dry inside after heavy rain. Maybe I would attempt a steep one like yours, depending on how brave or stupid I was feeling, but I grew up climbing like a monkey and still feel fairly confortable with it.

Reply to
Sev

Sorry, no quick releases. You really wouldn't want something like that anywhere near climbing gear.

Reply to
Toller

I could be misremembering, but I thought I saw on some documentary program about mountain climbing that if someone falls, and the place their rope is connected to the rock fails, there is a big risk that they will then pull the next person off, and those two will pull the third, and so on, so when a person lower on the rope sees this happening and sees that it has gone beyond the point where it can be stopped, they want to get off that rope, quickly. But it could be that the guy on the bottom of the rope on the climb the show was about was just really fast at operating whatever it was that hooked him to the rope, rather than having some kind of quick-release.

Reply to
Tim Smith

falls with harnesses are more common from tripping on lines etc. although less deadly.

dont forget to watch out for power lines they can kill.

the idea is rock climbers always are bolted to at least 2 hooks if someone falls the rest hold him. never cutting clear the unfortunate faller....

all in all DIY in this case is a bad idea.

might check your neighbors for good roofer referencesor a handyman type.

I have a neighbor like that he can fix almost anything and low cost too

Reply to
hallerb

Just to give everyone an update - I chickened out and called a roofer. He noticed that a seal on one of the pipes had deteriorated and put some sealant on it and told me that it should be good for another 20 years. For the record that is exactly what I thought the problem was when I looked at it with my binoculars. It took him 5 minutes to fix, he didn't charge me but I gave him 30 bucks nonetheless. Thanks everyone for talking me down!

Reply to
Joe

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