Another Ladder Question...

[kurt]

Originally posted by Jim Morrison

Nice photo, Kurt. Who tied your shoes for you? Very neat.

Yours,

The Ladder Monkey

My Mommy; she always ties my shoes and packs my lunch before I go anywhere.

FTR, I was up there looking @ this.......that's the Hancock in the background.

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[hausdok]

Well, not as high as Kurt's but this one was a dickens to get to the ridge on and to stay on when checking that dormer and chimney. Just about wore out the calluses on my hands. Not a whole lot of purchase and had been heated by the sun all day.

Found missing flashings on the dormer that couldn't see from the ground and they'd used glass mat gooped with a little mastic as flashings around the base of that conical roof. The cover is probably less than 6 years old, but the mastic had worn away and the glass fiber was showing through at the base of the cone.

It gave me a pretty good workout for such a small roof.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by hausdok

Well, not as high as Kurt's but this one was a dickens to get to the ridge on and to stay on when checking that dormer and chimney. Just about wore out the calluses on my hands. Not a whole lot of purchase and had been heated by the sun all day.

Found missing flashings on the dormer that couldn't see from the ground and they'd used glass mat gooped with a little mastic as flashings around the base of that conical roof. The cover is probably less than 6 years old, but the mastic had worn away and the glass fiber was showing through at the base of the cone.

It gave me a pretty good workout for such a small roof.

I'd rather use a 32 foot ladder than attempt to scurry around on a 14:12 roof.

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- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

Well yeah,

If I used a 32' ladder it would have been perfect. I make do with what I've got and the tradeoff is an acceptable alternative to not being able to get into parking garages and needing to park blocks away in order to do inspections.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[randynavarro]

I know you've explained it somewhere else before but how in the world to you get up there?

I could see getting up (maybe), but getting down . . . ?

[hausdok]

You go up the valley, Randy. Straddle it like you're climbing up the chute of a rock face. Palms and soles flat on the roof to get maximum traction. To come down to the sides of the dormer from the ridge, you back down from the ridge with your fingers pointed toward the gutters and your arms turned to brace you. to come back down the valley, do the same thing or walk down it frontways standing erect and then turn at the bottom to get on the ladder.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[kurt]

Spoken like a ladder monkey.....

[charlieb]

And don't forget the leather gloves. Mo adhesion and dem shangles get hot in da south!

[hausdok]

Today's. Pre-Offer inspection. $1.4M

Another inspector on-site climbed up to a flat room over a 3-season porch at the far left end of the picture but went no further. I did all of it. It gave me a pretty good workout but it wasn't difficult.

Here's what I found up there:

• Counter flashings missing on the uphill side of one chimneystack
• Uphill counterflashing installed wrong at the other stack with a huge hole through the side of the stack where the old flashings had been eroded completely away.
• Crown on one stack was cracked and the crack extended 5 ft. down through the stack and one flue wall.
• The flue tile in the furnace flue was completely eaten way by acid for the last 4ft. from the crown and had sloughed off into the stack.
• Wooden gutter along one side of the upper roof is shot and leaking into the soffit.
• The cracked stack looks great from the ground because it's coated with a layer of parging. Sounded the parging. It's barely holding on and is sloughing off. Behind, the mortared joints are toast due to water trapped behind that parging for decades.
• Flat roof has a high parapet with a urethane surface and little tiny 2" drain and no overflow scuppers.

The only issue out of all thest that was evident from the ground with binos, or could be seen from a ladder was the, leaking worn-out wood gutter.

There's nothing really hard or scary about it - it's just technique. When I'm on the roof I don't pay attention to anything beyond the gutter. If it's 10 - 15 ft. from the eaves to the ridge, I just think of the roof as sitting on a flat parking lot with the ridge just above me a little bit. When I do that, my nerves are fine and it's like I'm not 25ft. in the air but maybe 10 - 15ft. in the air.

Gotta tell ya, though, these old guys give one a pretty good workout compared to the little one-story bungalows with the 4:12 roofs.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Neal Lewis]

Mike, did you walk on that steep section at the right side?

[hausdok]

Yeah, along the ridge, and then straight down from the ridge to the side of the chimney at the north end of the house and then straight back up to the ridge again (That's the workout). You can't see that chimney in the picture. It's on the right end of the house in that picture, obscured by vegetation. This one was so steep that, except for going down to the chimney and back up again, one doesn't want to try and stay on the slope for more than 10 or 15 seconds, because holding your weight on your palms at that pitch feels like it will literally tear one's palms away.

The roof is pitched equally as steep along the north south ridge, but only for half it's span. On that axis, about halfway from the ridge to the eaves it changes from that steep pitch to about a 4:12 pitch. I was able to walk most of the north south axis on both sides standing up on the lower-pitched half. From the angle break up, the steep upper portion is only about 8-1/2 ft. high and is like looking at a wall. A little bunny hop from the lower pitched area to the side of the tall roof on the right side in the picture and it's an easy rebound to the ridge. The second chimney is at the end of that ridge on the north-south axis and that dark green tree in the foreground blocks it from view. One goes along a ridge like this like playing leapfrog with a foot on either side, using the arms as legs and the legs only as braces. Straddling that ridge with a foot on either side, I could look right down into the chimney.

Hardest roof I ever had was a mansard roof covered with red comp. It was a summer day but not overwhelmingly hot. The only way to the top was up a valley at an inner corner from the eaves. I got off that ladder, started rock walling up that valley and then paused momentarily partway up, when I realized that my palms were burning up. I wanted to stop and go back to the ladder, but it was farther to the ladder than to the ridge. If I went up, I'd still have to come down again, but at least I'd get a few minutes to let my palms cool off. However, if I tried to go back, by the time I got to the ladder, the time in contact with the cover would increase the pain and make me lose my grip. So, I went up. I finished inspecting the roof. Took a few minutes to fan my palms and prepare for it mentally and then went back down that valley as quickly as I could, giving both palms a nice 3rd degree burn in the process.

I never go on red roofs now on a sunny day.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[charlieb]

And don't forget the leather gloves. They provide additional traction and red roofs get quite hot in the northwest.

[hausdok]

By the way, Kurt, how high do they go with brick in Chi-Town? I guess I'd never really thought about it, but for some reason I had it in my mind that they don't go more than 5 - 6 floors with brick. That's clearly higher. Those freakin buildings must be an bitch to tuckpoint.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[kurt]

There's no rule. I've never really thought about it.

I was about 20 floors up that day. The Allerton hotel is all brick, and it's about 35 or 40, I think. The Golub is brick, w/terra cotta details @ the crown, and that's about 40-50(?).

[Inspectorjoe]

Originally posted by ozofprev

I can't believe I just clicked on some guy's link that is labeled: Here's the view between my legs. Dumb! [:-banghea

Gary:

While I'm not really sure just what you're trying to say, I assume you're expressing disappointment at what you found (or more likely didn't find) when you clicked on that link.

We all know that kind of stuff can be found all over the internet; I can assure you that it won't be found here at TIJ.

Joe Hancaviz (AKA "Some Guy")

Nazareth, PA

[hausdok]

We all know that kind of stuff can be found all over the internet; I can assure you that it won't be found here at TIJ.

Joe Hancaviz (AKA "Some Guy")

Nazareth, PA

I hope that's a good thing and not a criticism. If not, I hear there's a lot of money to be made by posting smutty pictures of naked gals and guys on the net. Hmmm, on second thought, are any of you studs interested in posing in a thong or less? Joe? [:-bigeyes

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Inspectorjoe]

I hope that's a good thing and not a criticism.

Most assuredly a good thing.

Hmmm, on second thought, are any of you studs interested in posing in a thong or less? Joe?

Studs? That leaves me out! Besides, I wouldn't want to have to pay for all of the cracked computer monitor screeens that would result. [:-crazy]

[ozofprev]

Joe,

We do have a sense of humor here, no?id="size4">

Originally posted by Inspectorjoe

Originally posted by ozofprev

I can't believe I just clicked on some guy's link that is labeled: Here's the view between my legs. Dumb! [:-banghea

Gary:

While I'm not really sure just what you're trying to say, I assume you're expressing disappointment at what you found (or more likely didn't find) when you clicked on that link.

We all know that kind of stuff can be found all over the internet; I can assure you that it won't be found here at TIJ.

Joe Hancaviz (AKA "Some Guy")

Nazareth, PA

[Les]

Even with the extra help - it still was a belly scraper going over the edge.

I could not get the ladder feet to jam into the top luggage rack.

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[ozofprev]

Originally posted by Les

I could not get the ladder feet to jam into the top luggage rack.

Why the hell not? No sawzall?

Did you go up there, or send a helper?

[Les]

It twas me, bruised belly button and all. Actually found $1.05 in loose change on the roof - bought a couple of band-aids at the store across the street!

[ozofprev]

You are so effin' cool!

I'd go to a TIJ meet just to talk to you!

Originally posted by Les

It twas me, bruised belly button and all. Actually found $1.05 in loose change on the roof - bought a couple of band-aids at the store across the street!