Customer has flat cement roof tiles. There are two fixed windows, each about 2 x 4 feet that can only be accessed by walking on said roof. Slope of roof isn’t bad, and we would normally just walk out and clean the glass. The customer is concerned about cracking tiles and wants us to put down a board or something to walk on. Seems to me like the board could easily slip and that would be very bad. Also windows are near the top of the roof, so I don’t think I can get my wfp there from the ground. Any ideas?
Let the customer know that you know what you’re doing, explain the safety issues with the board on the roof as well.
Let her know that you’re fully insured in case anything were to happen to the tile. It’s important to stress that the tiles are built for durability blah blah blah… Sometimes a little intelligent sounding bs goes a long way to set someone at ease.
Last option would be to not do the windows and take a couple bucks off the bill it’s that much an issue.
Anytime I’ve explained something to a customer with a safety concern of mine they usually listen to what you have to say. Again this is all in the approach, be confident that you can do it without the board and make the customer believe in you.
Mike Radzik
Pro Window Cleaning
Central Massachusetts
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Would Liability insurance cover broken roof tiles under these circumstances? Unless you have Care, Custody & Control coverage (which most of us probably don’t have) I’d be concerned that insurance would refuse to cover breakage like this.
Yeah there are some tiles that are very fragile. I had one customer who cursed his builder for breaking a bunch of tiles. So we skipped windows instead of risking it.
If you’re a smaller guy, you could get 2x2 plywood squares and put a thick nonstick padding underneath. Then have your price covered in the bid.
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You could set a ladder on the roof with a roof hook. They usually have a roller on the opposite side of the hook so it wont damage the tile. Flip it on the rollet, slide it up the roof past the peak then flip it back over so the hook grabs the peak. I use one a lot putting up christmas lights. The only way to do steep pitches or with snow and ice on the roof.
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I’m not sure. There are a lot of pads at Sams Club and restaurant supply places that have non-stick floor pads that you could use. There was a website that had a picture of this and I think it was [MENTION=36727]Curtis[/MENTION], but I can’t remember…
The trick to walking on cement tiles is to always step on the bottom lip of each tile where it overlaps the tile below. Your weight is then transferred through two solid tiles to the roof deck below with no air gap between. And step lightly. No Clydesdale stomping. Lift your foot and place it with each step rather than pushing off.
Years of working construction and roofing have proven this method. Roofing contractors don’t make special efforts to work on a tile roof. We just need to do what the pros do. After all, we are professionals ourselves.
If you really want to show something to the customer, get some soft foam soled Korkers. They’re roofing over-shoes. Windows 101 sells them. They also have spikes for wood shake roofs
Yeah totally what MPServices said, here the standard roofing methods are tiles and steel sheeting, its about a 70/30 ratio i have to walk on tiles all the time. The only tiles i really worry about is slate tiles these are thin and easy to crack. I’m not a small guy over 200 pounds, but its about about where you stand, as long as the roof is structurally sound of course. Don’t stand in the center on the tile, stand where the tiles meet on the overlap.
If you understand the way the roof is constructed it will become second nature.
i have done done it with a wfp at a straight shot at 25 feet from a ladder. It is not easy. Not something you want to do very often. You will be sore the next day. Sometimes I just have to walk the brush across the window by twisting the brush back and forth. Something most would not try to do, but possible.
Great points. This usually works but sometimes the overlap area has a considerable gap and thus the tile will break if you walk on bottom lip. It’s all about support. Wherever the support the most, that’s where your feet should be.
Interesting. I’ve never used anything like this. If the customer isn’t okay with the possibility of the tiles breaking, I simply refrain from cleaning their roof accessible windows.
Plus what if you slip off this wood plank and fall off the house? I can see you using this for areas where falling off the roof just can’t happen, but I’m not convinced that this significantly lowers the chance of breakage. Thoughts?
