Over the past few years we have seen the need to be properly tied down with a harness and rope to customers roofs while preforming tasks such as gutter cleaning and powerwashing.Just looking for some ideas how others are doing these services in a safe manner.What do you tie down to? Installing brackets on top of roof pitch? Taking out vents and tyeing to trusts?What safety systems does your business use? Using only ladders with steep roof lines?Just getting some new ideas, to see how to do this in a safe yet still quick fashion.There seems to be a real lack of good info that I have been able to find.Thanks
I like to tie off to 3-50 lb weights from the ground over the opposite side of the roof. Or a nice thick tree if its in line.
Great moves with the weights, however OSHA regs call for 200’ strength for fall restraint, and make sure all edges are protected. Using a set of weights on both ends of the rope works pretty well also. Alows movement in both directions. Easiest achieved w/ two lanyards, do you don’t have to create another connection point in transition.
I’ve been toying with the idea of ground anchors for the last few years. Screw them in and then screw them out to remove. Shouldn’t cause much damage to the yard. But I know there is a lot to consider about this such as depth of anchor, hardness of ground, diamater of anchor, shape of anchor etc.
Jeff do you have any pics or video of your setup that you could post?
No, but will get some when we start back up in the Spring. We are still hybernating!
@ Rick. Screwing them into the ground? Ground that you don’t know whats under it? Electric, gas, septic or water? Your taking your life in your own hands. Be careful!
We sometimes use our 1 ton van towing hitch, but be sure to disable the vehicle by disconnecting battery red tag the wheel with a lock out tag.
Yeah Pro, I know…like i said i’ve just been toying with the idea. Haven’t actually done it. Just been trying to figure out a safe way.
Counter weights will work but are bulky. In some situations I would need weights on both sides of the house in order to be able to travel both ways from a peak. Rope protection would also be an issue. But cw would be much safer than nothing at all no matter how bulky they are to transport around a house. Usually I can’t even get anyone to talk about this delima. Thanks Mister410 for bringing this up.
We use Compliance in a can, its about $130.00 and it is osha approved for the new regulation that went into effect on june 16, 2011, you have to be tethered to the roof if it is 6 feet or higher and the fines are around $7,000.00 per employee on the roof, a few roofers got hit pretty hard around here last year. Google compliance in a can, we just use the anchors that come with it and tell the customer that it is a law and they usually dont care, we try to take a shingle off the peak and screw it down and then use asphalt caulk in the holes before we put the shingle back on. It sucks but if Im gonna be on a roof more than a few minutes I definitely use it. I see a loot more roofers using it now as well.[COLOR=#00802A][FONT=arial]
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I would check with your state OSHA Installing anchor on peaks also taking out vent and tying to trust is the safest way. Yes it does take longer to do the job. What more important your life or a job
OSHA does exist. They paid me a visit on the job site today.
Lucky for me the guy was smoking a cigar and “off-the-clock”, but he sure did have a lot to say and a pamphlet ready about ladder safety.
In Oregon here, he said, if your lowest gutter line of the roof you’re walking is more than 10’, then you MUST be tied off to an anchor point that has been fastened to the peak of the roof and rated for 5,000lbs (the safety piece will state this) with “all nail holes filled”. I asked about removing the vent, tying to a tree, weights or even your truck bumper and he just laughed. He said, in their office, those “tie-offs” are the running jokes of the industry.
He asked if a 200lb weight with a 150lb guy tied to it could withstand the effect of the 6’ fall and 900lbs of torque/tension created when you fall that 6 feet. There are systems in place for a reason.
Anything above 10’ is a “death-fall” and a $50 fine could turn into a $1500 fine. If you’re a SP, they have “almost no jurisdiction over you (unless it involves a ‘death fall’)”, if you’re an LLC or Corp or they can prove that you’ve had employees/subs in the past 12 months and even if you’re up there doing something wrong in front of someone else, they can cite you and give a crazy fine for “being a bad example.”
His best advice for me was to take a safety course and said to have the ladder extend 3 feet above the gutter line when walking onto the roof (which could have been a citation for me, today) and not to get too close to a side edge of the roof.
Take home points:
Take a class on roof/ladder safety.
Measure your gutter heights before stepping on the roof.
Extend the ladder 3’ above the gutter line when stepping on the roof.
Only tie off to anchor points that are properly installed and have been rated at 5k lbs.
Don’t tie off to anything other than a 5k lb anchor point (even if you install it) with “all holes filled”.
These systems are all in place for a reason and developed from the examples of the many that have lost their lives to improper techniques.
Sounds like we’re back to Square A.
i read the post and here i got many idea about the rook cleaning and feel that this cleaning procedure of the roof is so though than it was seen previously by me.
How do you anchor to the roof if it it is tile?
I’ve been toying with the idea of ground anchors for the last few years. Screw them in and then screw them out to remove. Shouldn’t cause much damage to the yard. But I know there is a lot to consider about this such as depth of anchor, hardness of ground, diamater of anchor, shape of anchor etc.
I’ve been toying with the idea of ground anchors for the last few years. Screw them in and then screw them out to remove. Shouldn’t cause much damage to the yard. But I know there is a lot to consider about this such as depth of anchor, hardness of ground, diamater of anchor, shape of anchor etc.
Using good ladder placement is your starting point and should never be taken for granted, so take time to discuss it with your crew. Ideally, you want to start from the strongest points of the building, like the corners, where the dangers of the fire haven’t damaged the supporting structural members. I personally use this technique.
