Am I going to fall through?

[Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!]

Hi all.

I bought Mark's excellent manual, and am considering doing the new roof project as described in it.

I'd like to do this project all by myself, but I'm a little concerned about the strength of our roof. As far as I know, it's structurally intact; but I'm not the smallest/lightest of guys.

I've seen the previous owner (carefully) walk on the roof a few years ago, but he's a 70 year old 5 ft something 120 lbs grasshopper. I on the other hand am 6ft3, and weigh (literally) twice as much...

So my question, assuming the roof is indeed structurally OK: is it safe for me to walk up there?

Thanks,

Erik

[Yanita]

Hi,

Both my Hubby at just under 180 and my 6'3", 205lb son have been our roof. They stayed on the rafters, when they got ready to coat the roof with Kool seal they used a length of plywood to stand on. The plywood was long enough to cover 3 rafters, dispersing their weight. Do not stand directly on the edge. You should be fine.

Have a great day!

~Yanita~

[JD]

Generally speaking, by walking and standing on top of the trusses, you should be alright. The trusses are weakest in the middle of their span. The area within 3' of the edge and ridge cap on doublewides will give you the most support. If you have any doubts, the plywood as Yanita mentioned might be a good idea. You would want to test-step or avoid depressions in the roof.

When installing one of Mark's designed roofs, you will be able to work off of the last installed panel. You would also be able to gain additional strength and insulation by using the foil backed polyiso (yellow) foam panels for insulation under the steel panels. The white EPS foam panels offer very little strength. An 8' or 10' step ladder will be able to work the eave edges where there is no awning.

JD

[Jaie]

Well, I've been up on my roof, and while I won't admit how much I weigh, let's just say I was impressed the roof held me. Although in the past week, my floor did not. My son who is the regular up there, tips in at about 6' and 150lbs and he does wonderfully up there. Uses it as an observation deck in the nicer weather for his telescope and watching fireworks in the city (we are about 3 miles outside the city of Oswego NY) It also depends on the roof. When I'm up there, I use a 1X10 to kneel on. But it keeps furthering my dream of a deck up there every time I get up there.

[Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!]

Thanks for the replies, y'all! A piece of plywood, now why didn't I think of that...

Pray for me guys. I've fallen off a roof before. No damage, only a dent in the ground