2nd Story Roofing: Doing it Safely, Feeling Safe?

[PastTense]

2nd Story Roofing: Doing it Safely, Feeling Safe?

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

 

[magicheater]

Depends on your fear of heights. Anything 5/12 pitch or less is walkable with 6/12 pitch and above requiring roof jacks. I have done 6/12 with no jacks but the edges are nerve racking. What type of roofing? Use a safety rope if you are nervous.

 

[MarkV]

A safety harness system adds a warm fuzzy safe feeling. They are required so much these days I have seen them for sale in the box stores for under $100.

MarkV

 

[travis potter]

I had a neighbor that needed to rake the leaves off his roof. He went to the store and bought 50 feet of rope tied one end to his waist and the other around a plastic roof jack he then raked the roof with a garden rake. this was before he burned the house down (old news papers in the garage next to the central heater. He no longer lives next door. This was a 1 story house...........

 

[rus_geek]

I use a fall harness made for hunting tree stands. Tie off to a good rope and a solid anchor. An anchor at the ridge is ideal, just make sure to adjust your anchor point or your rope length as you are working various parts of the roof. You want your fall to stop just short of the edge of the roof, not just past the edge :shocked:

On my 8/12 when it was new, I tied off directly to the trusses, since we didn't have the ridge vent installed yet.

-rus-

 

[pharmon]

I have used ladder staging and pump jacks, but never felt very secure. I have now gone to metal box staging. While it is probably the most expensive option, it is very secure. I am not a contractor but have 2 houses, a camp and barn to maintain. I have eight "lifts" and some extra cross bracing. I have a little less than $1500 invested, but figure that if I avoid one trip to the emergency room, I'm way ahead.

The staging I have is 5' x 7' and 6'4" tall. Half of each end has metal ladder rungs for climbing. If you put the ladder side towards the building, you can put the staging planks at just the right height for the work you are doing.

If you have only the one project, metal staging can also be rented. When I checked about 10 years ago, it was $6 a lift, for a month. I'm sure it's gone up since.

Hope this info is helpful,

Paul

 

[Pops15]

1, 2 or 3 story makes no difference. Roof pitch is the issue. You can comfortably work on 6-12 or maybe 6 1/2 -12 pitch. I've done up to 8-12 without jacks but it got kinda hairy at times. Anything 7-12 or steeper you'll want roof jacks and toe boards.
If you're not comfortable starting from above, you can install the first few courses from below by using extension ladders, ladder jacks, and an aluminum stage. Don't screw around with light duty ladders! You should be able to buy HD ladders, jacks, and a stage for under a grand.
You could also use stack scaffold like Paul described but its a PITA to set up and take down. I have a trailer full of that stuff and I hate to use it.
I've never used a harness but I strongly recommend you use one. Some guys use the foam rubber out of a couch cushion to sit or kneel on so they didn't slip. They do that on 7 or 8-12 pitch roofs so they don't have to use jacks. I've never tried that myself but they say it works great.
If you're not comfortable up there you're best bet is to just hire a reputable roofer.

 

[mmurphy]

PastTence, Our neighbors to the south of u.s.a. have been using cushions from chairs, couches with out the fabric on them. (foam only) I started using them with toe holds when I do roofing and found it is easier on roof and keeps you from burning body parts and scuffing the shingles. I have seen mexican roofing crews shingle houses that you should use toe holds that only use the cushions. They even told me it is called mexican toe holds. I would be worried if you are already feeling unsafe for you to be up there, maybe this is the project that you should hire out, one fall could change your life. :2cents:

 

[Egon]

Stand back and watch the roofing crew do it's thing.

Scaffolding is hard to handle by oneself as are all the other activities related to second story roofing.

 

[roofingsubcontractor]

Hi,

I'm trying to look for Mexican crews who can work for me here in Indianapolis. Can anyone help please? Maybe you know someone who knows someone.