protecting asphalt roof shingles

[SteveB]

How to protect asphalt roof shingles came up at the /Trinity Habitat for Humanity/ meeting last night.

After the roof is on, we have to send volunteers topside to install corbels, touch up paint, etc. Shoes on the shingles frequently damage the shingles, knocking off enough grit that the inspector requires replacement.

Of course, the obvious answer is don't put the shingles on so soon, but that ain't gonna happen. The house has to be dried in, and theres _always_ one more punch-list item up top. (Our motto is, "We do it right the last time.")

Who has suggestions for how to protect asphalt shingles from damage by shoes in the Texas heat?

[Oren]

The roofer!!

[RicodJour]

Use chicken ladders so they're not walking on the roof shingles at all. It's also a lot safer for the volunteers.

R

[Pete C.]

Wait until winter.

[Duff2]

Wait until morning.

[Pipedown]

I've not heard them called chicken ladders but there are a variety of ladders and scaffold systems made specifically for working on steeply pitched roofs where you couldn't walk anyway.

I suppose you could roll out a long carpet runner and walk on that (like a hallway rug). A roof with a red carpet. Maybe temporarily nail it in place to prevent slippage.

[RicodJour]

I didn't coin the term. Manufacturers sell them by that name:

some of the hits are for little ladders that chickens use to get into their coop. ;)

Not big on nailing temporary protection through shingles. Seems to me that does almost as much damage as walking on it on a hot day.

R

[SteveB]

That's not a bad idea. Someone last night said that on one job somebody took the liner out of his pickup. He said it worked OK, but he was worried about the liability. We need to decide on an approved method. Carpet might just be it.

[SteveB]

Good luck with that! We're starting 14 houses next month.

[SteveB]

Noted

[tbasc]

The houses we designed are one story and don't require folks to walk on the roof after it is shingled. Can you describe or share a photo of your houses? T

[Harry K]

Be sure anyone walking on the roof is wearing 'tennis' shoes? That may violate safety regs though. I had to patch my mothers new roof because my idiot 'macho' brother wore cowboy boots while working up there.

Harry K

[Red Green]

Harry K wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Well, the tips really are good for diggin' in going up steeper pitches:-)

[Harry K]

[e-mail]:

And the heels are good brakes coming down :)

Harry K

[HeyBub]

What kind of damage? The roof is expected (I hope) to survive decades of rain, hail, birds, branches, golf balls, cats, raccoons, and (at Christmas) reindeer.

Besides, assuming the roofers start at the edge and work up, if they don't walk on the roof, how do they get down? Is this the outside equivalent of painting ones self into a corner?

[SteveB]

Shingles are installed by a contractor early in the construction process to get the house "dried in" so water-sensitive work can start and inspections can start.

It's cheaper to have a contractor put on the roof. The work is done in a day; it's done right; there's a warranty; and it's cheaper because our liability insurance rate goes down.

Texas heat gets into the 90s by mid-morning. Sometimes it doesn't get _out_ of the 90s overnight. This causes the asphalt in the shingles to be soft and the granules to come loose easily if stepped on roughly. The contractors obviously know what they're doing. If _they_ screw up the shingles, they have to replace them themselves.

Because all work is done by volunteers (except for flatwork, roofing, wallboard, and licensed trades), expertise is lacking. I can only tell someone to walk lightly on the shingles; I can't stand by and make sure they do it.

[Oren]

Why are they up there, on the shingles? Roofing is under contract, right?

I'm in the Mohave desert, at about triple digits this week, and people are walking on asphalt shingles. I think the hype of lost grit is over rated. Walk gently, my friend:)

[HeyBub]

I agree. I had a new roof installed, oh, about eight years ago. I still see "sand" in the gutters even though no one has walked on the roof (except cats, birds, opossums, an occasional raccoon, and, at Christmas, reindeer).

I agree that walking on a roof should be kept to a minimum, but the real damage from such would be on an OLD roof where the shingles are brittle. I would think that new, hot, shingles would be sort of "self-healing."

[Oren]

Sparrows can only eat so much sand; the real reason they land, and peck.

That "self- healing" is said too take place during high temps. Save the grit from the package and then toss it on the melt (joke). Never walk a "cow path" on the shingles. roofing nails can seal on the heated shingle...best I can tell.

[SteveB]

The volunteers are not doing roofing. They're installing trim and fixing punch-list items. There are _always_ lots of punch-list items. ("We do it right the last time.")

As far as the shingles go, all I can tell you is that walking on them by people who aren't careful sometimes causes enough damage that the roof fails a final inspection. Besides, the rule for making punch-lists is, "How would you want it if it were your house?")