Rooftop Safety

This time of year, there are many homeowners getting on their roofs to install or remove lights and decorations, and to clean up the fall leaves. Below are a couple key areas of safety to consider anytime you get on your roof.

Ladder Safety

When setting up a ladder, ensure the ladder is set at an angle that follows the 4:1 ratio. This means that for every 4 feet the ladder rises vertically you need to move the feet of the ladder horizontally away from the vertical plane by 1 foot. Say you have a roof that is 10 feet tall to the eave, you would need to put the feet of your ladder about 2.5 feet away from the vertical plane. Additionally, the ladder should go above the eave of the roof 2 to 3 feet in order to provide a place for you to hold onto when getting on and off the ladder. Simple! This helps prevent a great number of falls on ladders.

Another item concerning ladder safety, have a friend help hold the ladder while you climb up and then ensure the ladder does not move while you are up on the roof. No friend? No problem! You just need to ensure the ladder is secured to the eave of the roof so that it does not disappear and leave you wishing for a friend to put the ladder back up. This can be done with some rope or a rachet strap attached to the gutter supports. Ensure your ladder feet are securely planted and stable, then when you reach the top of the ladder before climbing onto the roof, tie it off.

Fall Protection

Fall protection while on your roof is a must and is super cheap insurance to prevent severe injury or death in the event of a fall. This time of year, there is a higher risk of slipping off your roof because of rain, ice, and snow. The recommended time to get on your roof however is when it is completely dry. Be smart. Wear a harness and attach a safety rope to a rooftop anchor. In most home improvement stores you can purchase a fall protection system that contains everything you need for about $100.00, but you do have to OPEN it and USE it for it to be affective.

Anchors

Some of the newly constructed homes around the treasure valley have preinstalled permanent roof anchors. They are little black protrusion usually on the back side of the roof by the exhaust air vents and close to the ridge. We have a full detailed Instagram story under the “tips” category on roof anchors on our Instagram account HERE. Roof anchors are about three inches wide and stick up out of the roof about four to six inches. They have a weather protective cover that pulls off allowing access to the anchor where you connect your safety line. If you do not have these on your roof you can either retrofit them, add a temporary one, or if you are going to replace your roof soon, consider asking your contractor to add a few permanent anchors.

Walking on the Roof

The first rule to walking on a roof is to do so in good weather conditions. Secondly, you need to have good athletic shoes that provide solid traction or purchase roofing specific foam soled boots. Third, you need to be confident in your abilities at height.

Now for where to walk. This depends on the pitch or steepness of the roof and the condition of the shingles. The steeper the roof and the older the shingles, the more difficult and dangerous the roof can be to walk. If it is a low pitch, say 4/12 or 6/12, you can usually get around on all surfaces easily. If your roof is a little steeper, say 8/12 or more, you will need to walk up and down the valley’s, hips, and the ridge. These are areas that will give you the best traction and the best place to walk without slipping.

Be safe up there!