Is It Safe To Walk On A Wet Roof

Beyond asphalt shingles even wood shingles can become cracked or dislodged.

Is it safe to walk on a wet roof. When walking on your concrete tile roof don t ever walk on. To illustrate the problem we took three pieces of asphalt shingle and plunged one into a cooler full of ice left one at roof temperature and put the third under a heat lamp. Roofing materials can get very slippery and depending on the slope of the roof it can become a dangerous situation for someone who is unskilled in walking on these areas. What happens if you bend the shingle and how easy is it to scrape the protective grains off the surface.

What does all of this mean. A roof is no place to be when it s wet or it may rain. This is likely not as much of an issue when you access your roof from inside the building. It is not a good idea to walk upon a roof for any other reason.

Even when absolutely necessary it should only be done by a professional. Wet icy or snow covered roofs are unsafe to walk on in most circumstances possibly excepting expert inspection of flat roofs with safe parapets or railings installed. If it s raining or the tiles are wet for some reason the risk only compounds and walking on your roof becomes extraordinarily dangerous. Ridge or hip tiles the tiles on the peak of your roof tiles in the valley of your roof.

The tile s water channels where tiles overlap on the sides. You need someone to steady the ladder and if you do slip help you down or call for assistance. You never want to climb up onto a roof if the surface is wet dirty or covered in debris. Make sure the ladder is sound.

So it is safe to say that they should perform excellently on wet cedar roofs or during winter on ice and snow covered roofs. Then we manipulated each of them to check out two things. Are the access points safe to use. As a rule avoid climbing or stepping on wet roofs unless absolutely necessary to reduce the risk of slips and falls.

It means that for your personal safety and the safety of your roof it s best if you simply stay off your roof and only let a professional walk on it if absolutely necessary. However it is common to have fixed ladders and or crossover stairs on other areas of the roof. Places you should never step. Aside from slipping on ice winter is not a bad time to walk on that roof but not the best time.

Also walk on the peaks of the tile not the valleys. Also see building safety hazards guide and see our list of inspector safety articles at home inspection education services safety articles. The spikes on these are not too sharp to make holes in the wood but are just sharp enough to give you the greatest traction you need.