Protecting Slate Roofing While Walking On Them

Look for shoes that have soft rubber soles with grips such as sneakers or light work boots so you get better traction on the tiles while you re walking on them.

Protecting slate roofing while walking on them.

There is no need to walk on the roof unless it is for the rare and occasional repair. This is due to it being a natural material and the grain is seldom 100 straight. Walking on slate roofs can also be extremely damaging. More advice from osha.

Slate roofs are fragile and are likely to be damaged by foot traffic. The roofing contractor said that it was super easy to break and they use some kind of sandbag system when they have to work on it to make a repair. Yes the ladder distributes the weight of the person tools and slates evenly along the length of it from ridge to eaves you don t need to pad it further in a rare instance you might break a slate on the front slope which you can easily repair while there your point about the back slope is well taken it is more common to have one break there because of the concentration of weight there again it s easily replaced if your going to be in that spot for awhile you might want to install a foot long. This shortens the roof s lifespan and degrades the shingles.

Use of alcohol or drugs even over the counter drugs such as antihistamines can lead to accidents while walking on roofs. We recently did a house with a new slate roof and the homeowner and roofing contractor both told us to keep off of it. We needed to walk it to install rain flow so we lost the sale. It s best to stay off of slate roof surfaces during a building inspection.

Advice about walking on inspecting slate roofs. Don t wear open toed shoes like sandals or flip flops since they don t offer protection if you accidentally slip or fall down. Compounding this issue is that each slate tile has a different shape and size. Try minimizing the pressure of your body by keeping your feet step on separated tiles.

Upon walking on these shingles shoe tread tears away these granules. 3 climb a ladder to access your roof safely. Keep your weight balanced and evenly divided between your both feet and stark to walk slowly. Osha warns not to allow safety equipment to make you complacent.

Walk on between the tile sections on the uncovered valley area. Even the most careful roofer could accidentally break tiles by stepping on them the wrong way. See slate roof inspection procedure for details. Set your foot so it arches according to the tiles curve on each of them.

It is not a good idea to walk upon a roof for any other reason. A stainless steel slate hook is used when replacing a slate tile. The hook is tapped into the gully between tiles and the new tile slides into place resting on the hook below.