Walking on steel roofing

[BarnyardEngineering]

I've tried all the suggestions, sneakers, rubber soled shoes, walking on the nail/screw heads, etc., and I may as well be on skis when trying to walk on a steel roof. Just slip, slide, and fall off.

There was a roof that REALLY needed to be shoveled off here the other day and I could not get to it. Fell off the roof twice trying. Luckily it was the low roof and it was only 2' to the snow pile, but where I needed to shovel was 10' to the ground, and steeper.

Any pressure on my feet and they instantly slid right out from under me. Flat on my face, then off the roof. Nail heads just tore through the soles of my shoes.

What's the secret? Had a guy fix a skylight on another building last fall. He had no issues. I could not stand up. Went and bought the same shoes he had. Didn't make any difference.

 

[Blue Jay]

They make a roof rake, that you stand on the ground and drag snow off with

 

[NY 986]

Good clean smooth roof nail or bolt heads are the best that you are going to do. In the future maybe have a pipe at the peak
that a rope could be tied to that in turn could be tied around your waste. Put the rope up during better weather to be ready for
the snow. Some guys have put small sheets of metal painted black at the bottom and top of the roof to warm the roof when the sun
is out. Been quite a number of sunny days this winter and it even saw it out during my trip over to Wyoming and Genesee Counties
to look at a couple of pieces of equipment. Quite a bit of manure spread on top of the snow to boot.

 

[Tony in SD]

To add to blue jay. They also make younger people for tasks like that.

 

[bmack95hd]

How Big A Boy Are Ya? Gravity may not be your friend. I get
someone experienced for jobs like that. It hurts too much to fall
anymore. Still sore from a fall and my feet were on the ground. I
dont like ladders or roofs.

 

[rockcreek4630]

I don't know the official name but I call
it grip tape the sand paper like stuff that
is on some equipment you can buy it at the
hardware store and stick it to the bottom
of your shoes that is what I like to do.

 

[SVcummins]

Roy d Mercer

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 09:01:44 02/17/22) They make a roof rake, that you stand on the ground and drag snow off with

I have a roof rake and a roof razor. This roof is too high off the ground for the roof rake, and the razor doesn't like wet heavy snow.

I do highly, HIGHLY, recommend the roof razor. It cleared the low roof in an hour, when it would normally take multiple afternoons to shovel.

I'll roof razor it in the future but it was not looking good for a couple of days... It finally melted and slid off on its own this morning.

 

[tomturkey]

Sarcasm/comedy alert....how many times are you going to fall off of roofs before you figure out you don't belong up there.
LOL LOL. Sounds like you've exhausted the idea that a different pair of shoes or boots will keep you up there.....time to
develop the Barnyard Engineering Snow removal device or system. Have a great day and please don't fall off on your head, we
would miss your posts. gobble

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 09:25:36 02/17/22) To add to blue jay. They also make younger people for tasks like that.

Nobody would come and do it for any amount of money.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 09:56:35 02/17/22) Sarcasm/comedy alert....how many times are you going to fall off of roofs before you figure out you don't belong up there.
LOL LOL. Sounds like you've exhausted the idea that a different pair of shoes or boots will keep you up there.....time to
develop the Barnyard Engineering Snow removal device or system. Have a great day and please don't fall off on your head, we
would miss your posts. gobble

The answer is TWO.

 

[Hobo,NC]

It took 5 years are so before I could walk on my steel roof. I glued kitchen cabinet liner to a pare of old shoes it helped but not much.

 

[Russ from MN]

How steep are your roofs? Mine are 5/12, but I only go up there in the summer time, to clean the chimney. I wear good
tennis shoes, and don't have a problem. I built my roofs strong enough to hold the snow, because I'm not there in the
winter to clean them off anyhow. If you reinforce your roof, it's a one time thing, cleaning off the snow is going to be
over and over.

 

[matthies]

Good luck finding somebody.

 

[Tony in SD]

They are out there. I have found several well trained good young folks. You just have to work hard to find them. And you have to understand where they look for work. When we wanted a job, we looked in the newspaper. That medium is worthless for hiring young people now days.

 

[Vito]

The news paper is pretty useless for giving any real news.

Why spend money on literary trash.

Vito

 

[37 chief]

Never walked on a roof to remove snow, and probably never will. Could you position a 2x6 along the roof ridge, attach topes to each end down to the
ground. When the snow piles up pull the board and the snow down? Stan

 

[SDE]

I have used a rope and a harness to keep from falling off the taller section of my roof. It might not keep you upright, but it will keep you on the roof. Or by keeping the rope tight, you can lean back against the harness and pull the snow down toward you and then get above the snow and push it off.

 

[john in la]

They make a over shoe that you strap onto your regular
shoes that is magnetic.
Ive never used them but seen several pole barn builders
ranting and raving about them on YouTube.

 

[Square Eye]

The best shoes I ever wore for roofwalking were Cougar
Paws. They have replaceable soles that Velcro to the
shoes. As with any other shoes, they work best on dry
roofs.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Sounds like the roof was too steep to get on without climbing ropes and equipment.

 

[ss55]

If you start denting the roof or breaking the seals you could do more damage to the building than the ice dams, not to mention the damage to yourself if you fall off again.

I use roof rakes, the Roof Razor is the best I've used. The ones with wood handles are OK, but the joints get floppy after a while.

https://www.roofrake.com/Productpages/roofrakerazor.asp

 

[MarkB_MI]

It depends a lot on the roof slope. Even a 4/12 pitch roof is treacherous; anything steeper is suicidal without proper equipment. I wouldn't want to get on a steep steel roof without a safety harness and proper arresting gear.

The surface needs to be clean and dry. My brother used to put up steel buildings. These typically didn't have very steep roofs, but they usually had high sidewalls, 14 or 16 feet. One day they'd been unable to work on the roof all day because of high winds when the wind finally died down. They went on the roof with brooms to sweep off the sand that the wind had left; he had just started at the peak when he slipped on the sandy roof. He slid all the way to the eave and went over, falling in a pile of manure about 14 feet below. His ankle basically went through the bottom of his foot. He had a very long recovery and the surgeon had to fuse his ankle. He broke that ankle a second time a few years later, which prompted him to get out of the business.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 10:38:30 02/17/22) Never walked on a roof to remove snow, and probably never will. Could you position a 2x6 along the roof ridge, attach topes to each end down to the
ground. When the snow piles up pull the board and the snow down? Stan

If we only got enough snow that it could be pulled off by yanking on a rope attached to a 2x6, I wouldn't even bother cleaning it off.

This roof is in a corner with two high dumping their snow on it, so the snow ended up being waist deep and hard packed.

It was well built when it was built 40 years ago, but it is 40 years old, and was sagging visibly with all the snow weight on it. Never really worried about it in the past, but it's yet another thing around here that lasted just as long as Dad needed it.

 

[ss55]

Dumb question: Why do you need to clear snow off a steel roof? Snow usually slides off in an avalanche with the slam of a door.

 

[ADB-Ia]

I set my tractor and loader up by the building with the loader raised and a ladder in the loader bucket laid on the roof. I use another ladder to climb up to the loader bucket and from there I use the laid down ladder to scale the roof. Works if you can get the tractor in position by the building and the roof isn't too high.

 

[Janicholson]

Snow rake. Jim

 

[bmack95hd]

Yep!

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

7/12 pitch on our roof. In summer, after a rain so the roof is clean, with perfectly clean soft soled sneakers, I can carefully walk on it. Can't get distracted. 99% of the time we use
a chicken ladder made out of strapping, an extension ladder, or line tied to the trailer tie downs I installed at the peak years ago.

In the winter if it is very cold (-20 or lower) I will climb the snow pack to clean the chimney. Not a chance I get on it otherwise.

I'd be awfully temped to just throw a bunch of de-icer cables up there and plug them in. The older I get the less I like falling.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 11:37:43 02/17/22) Dumb question: Why do you need to clear snow off a steel roof? Snow usually slides off in an avalanche with the slam of a door.

After it's been warm for a few days, yes.

When it doesn't get warm, and it keeps snowing and snowing and snowing, it doesn't slide off.

 

[Janicholson]

At 21ft. this rake will do the job! Jim
rake

 

[cjunrau]

try a shot gun at the angle of the roof. shoot a bit high and you may see a lot of snow come down. I have not tried it but I have taken all
the bbs out and shot up the chimney and cleans out everything in it in one blast. The other thing might work if you take a half inch copper
pipe with holes in it. has to reach to the top of roof and have a air hose with quick coupler and valve on it. shove pipe up along roof to
top and give it a blast of air. I think copper is light enough it might work. you may have to do it in 10 ft sections and pin them together.
maybe a new invention to do custom work in your area?? around here I have never seen enough snow on a roof that anybody shovels it off. I
think we have so much wind it blows off.

 

[danofarming]

Over at my local Metal Roofing place they sell Magnetic Boots.

 

[pburchett]

Try different shoes. I had a 5/12 metal roof that I couldn't stay on with certain shoes. Other shoes would allow me to walk on it in the rain. Not all shoe bottoms are made alike or equal.

 

[caterpillar guy]

If it is not to much could you sue a man lift to reach up there. Rent one and go to it. No falling and no nonsense. Yup it will cost money and so will a hospital visit. Not to mention if you died from the fall. We don't get enough snow to be a problem weight wise and it usually melts off before the next comes. I think we are in a 30 inch load zone for snow on building roof.

 

[Dopp Creek]

What I did was put the loader bucket of the tractor up close to the eave as a stop for an extension ladder laid out on the roof.. Walk the rungs of the ladder,
keeps the pressure off the roof and fasteners.

 

[Tony in SD]

They are out there. I have found several well trained good young folks. You just have to work hard to find them. And you have to understand where they look for work. When we wanted a job, we looked in the newspaper. That medium is worthless for hiring young people now days.

 

[Mark Poss]

Concrete bull float with 25 foot handle

 

[pcsaw]

A 3 or 4 inch piece of foam works pretty
good

 

[2SteveWI]

a Fire Dept. would use a roof ladder when an Aerial truck is not available or cannot get up to roof. A roof ladder is usually 12-
14 foot long. There are hooks on the end that pivot out to hook over the peak. You can put tennis balls on the end to stop
scratching your roof. Try your local Fire Dept. they may borrow you one or know someone that has an old one. That would be better
than having to pick you up off the ground. You could fabricate hooks for your own ladder if it was something you would use often.
Steve.

 

[SVcummins]

Is this herb ?
Car dealer

 

[fixerupper]

In cold weather the rubber soles of your shoes are harder and not as sticky. Its simple as that.

 

[ss55]

Can you add some temporary supports inside the building to shore up the roof? A long post or two propped up against the worst sagging spots can keep the roof from caving in this winter.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 14:19:08 02/17/22) At 21ft. this rake will do the job! Jim
rake

I have two of those. You can only reach up about 3' on to this roof with one at full extension.

A lot of you guys just don't seem to understand what snow is, though. This is not a couple of inches of fluff you can pull off with a roof rake or blow off with an air gun. If that was all it is, I would leave it.

This is 3', 4' up to 5' of WET!!! HEAVY!!! SNOW!!!. You could take potshots at it with your 12ga and use up all the ammo in the county and all you'd get is hearing loss.

 

[Janicholson]

Rope to the opposite side, then use a harness and Descenders to stay on the roof.
safety

 

[Jeff in ND]

Tingley rubber boots or overshoes. I have no experience walking on a winter/icy roof with these but in dry weather you can walk up walls on them. My foot wear of choice if I have to get on a roof, metal or asphalt.