Walking on Roofs

[hausdok]

When you inspect a home do you climb up onto (traverse) the roof to inspect it close up if it's safe? If so, on what percentage of the houses you inspect do you think you actually go up onto the roof.

[RAB]

If there is a reasonable risk of damage to the roof, I don't walk it.

[mgbinspect]

It's interesting that there are things you can miss viewing a roof with binoculars and things you can miss walking a roof. I always walk around a building twice, once clockwise and once counter-clockwise. I look at each elevation close up and far back with high powered binoculars. Usually, through that exercise, you have a pretty good list of "notes to self" to formulate a plan of attack from. And, it is especially helpful in highlighting the areas of a roof and flashing that you want to get close to.

[rickywells]

I walk every roof that my ladder will reach unless it is a tile roof 5 years old or less. Builders seem to want to blame home inspectors for damaged tiles when the home inspector reports them and it gets into a battle of pointing fingers at each other and I do not need that.

There are more tile roofs here in Arizona than composite shingle roofs and it does take a little practice to walk tile roofs but after you get the hang of it.....its just as easy as walking on any other surface. That and most roofs here are also low pitched roofs which makes it much easier.

Before anyone comments.....my ladder is not a 4' step niether....lol, I know its coming from someone

So the answer to the original post is more than 90%

[Ben H]

I walk every roof I possibly can, and even a few I had no business on... Sliding down a 10/12 is no fun.

[mgbinspect]

No doubt, Ben, you replaced all of the aggregate you displaced on that 10/12 with my now famous dilluted Elmer's Glue trick, right? []

[Les]

We should have had another choice or variable: weather permitting. For five months each year, most Michigan inspectors have to deal with snow cover.

[John Kogel]

I walk 100% of the 4 in 12 asphalt roofs, 95% of the 6 in 12's, none of the steeper ones unless I have to, ditto old cedar shingles, none of the mobiles. So I think it's a regional thing. Good point about the snow. I voted 80-90%.

[Ben H]

Leave it to Les to point out the obvious...

[Ben H]

No doubt, Ben, you replaced all of the aggregate you displaced on that 10/12 with my now famous dilluted Elmer's Glue trick, right? []

Yep. every last grain. [:-dev3]

[George Russell]

I walked the roof of a new construction home here in Austin last week and am damned glad I did. I found MANY damaged shingles. So many I feel that the roofer received a defective load. The builder was very surprised as well, he has a bum knee and don't inspect his own roofs. I would have never noticed the damage from the ground and it's likely I'd have not seen it through my bino's. Walk them if you can...do your client a great instead of good service.

[John Dirks Jr]

I'm in the 60 to 70% range. On some homes I can safely walk some portions of the roof but not others. My balls are getting slightly larger as time goes by. My cougar paws help when I need 'em.

If I fall, will my balls suddenly shrink? I hope that doesn't happen.

[mgbinspect]

If I fall, will my balls suddenly shrink? I hope that doesn't happen.

Heaven forbid. I know guys that have fallen. So far, in seventeen years, I've been blessed. I'm an ADD multi-tasking fool, but I never multi-task on a roof or ladder. When I'm actually walking on the roof, I'm doing so VERY carefully, and I'm doing nothing else. If I experience the slightest bit of anxiety due to the setup, I don't mount the roof and accept a look-see from the ladder. It's rarely the height - I've worked on scaffolds many stories tall and do a bit of flying as well. When it comes to actually mounting a roof, sometimes the risk isn't worth the reward. It's day at a time decision.