How would you reach the top of this house?


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Old 04-21-16, 04:44 PM
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How would you reach the top of this house?

How would you reach the top of this house for maintenance? Set up a scaffold on to top of the porch roof? Remove the porch roof? It's about 25 feet from the top of the porch roof to the top of the house.
 
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Old 04-21-16, 05:06 PM
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Wow...a predicament. I don't see that lower roof supporting the weight from scaffolding.
What kind of maintenance do you need to do ?
 
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Old 04-21-16, 06:10 PM
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Yeah, that's gonna be a challenge, especially the back side. You could reach parts of it by climbing out a window onto the porch roof. To reach the higher parts, I'd probably rent an all-terrain tele-boom lift. But that probably wouldn't even help in the back unless there's an accessible flat area.

I've set ladders on low slope porch roofs before by screwing down a 2x to clamp the base of the ladder to, but I'd sure want to be sure the roof was solid as heck and would tie off the top of the ladder real well too.
 
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Old 04-21-16, 06:13 PM
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Many of those boards need replacing. Obviously, a ladder isn't going to cut it. I'm perfectly comfortable on scaffolding, but finding a way to safely set it up is the hard part. I could rent a knuckle boom, but that's going to be very expensive due to what I need to navigate the rough terrain. Yes, it is a predicament, but not impossible.
 
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Old 04-21-16, 06:55 PM
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I really like lift equipment. I have always been able to charge the rental to the job. It might be different for myself. I think if you have to rent scaffold that the safety and efficiency of the lift equipment might be worth the difference.
 

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Old 04-21-16, 07:39 PM
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Well, unfortunately I think it is going to take a lot of ingenuity and materials to set up any sort of scaffolding that will be safe.

I know OSHA doesn't want us building our own scaffolding due to the possibility (and liability) of failure, but when it's your own house, who is going to fine you.

If it was mine, I would probably space out three or four 4x8 sheets of styrofoam per side (vertically) to protect the roof. On top of that, I would lay 3/4" plywood, lining the edges up with the rafters for support and strength. The plywood would be secured to the roof with straps... heavy gauge galvanized metal sheets roughly 4" x 16". This would allow you to only have a couple fasteners through the roof... the top end of the strap would be screwed to the roof near the wall, the bottom half of the strap would be screwed to the upper part of the plywood, so that the plywood would hang from the strap, simply preventing it from sliding down. (I'd probably leave the metal straps on the roof permanently, for future use).

Then I would put a 2x4 cleat horizontally across the sheets of plywood to catch the feet of an extension ladder. You could also set up a pair of Tapco Broncos and a plank for some of the lower work, provided the legs of the Broncos are firmly on the plywood base.

As it says on the package of shingles, "roofing work is inherently dangerous"... in other words, not for the faint of heart.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 02:40 AM
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that's going to be very expensive
Safety has no cost factor. There would be no way I would consider scaffolding on this job. A man lift would be the safest way of reaching it. Now, as to the lower terrain, it may need to be modified to allow the lift access. It looks to be a 14:12 pitch, so tying off with fall protection is the only way I would consider allowing anyone to perform roofing repairs/replacement.

I am "faint of heart", too big, old and smart to get on a roof anymore.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 02:47 AM
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And just to prevent any misunderstanding... when I suggested putting plywood on the roof, I'm talking about putting it on the metal porch roof, so that ladders can be leaned against the walls. That steep roof is a whole 'nother level.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 04:10 AM
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I've painted many houses with similar roofs and always used a ladder. If I had a helper - he steadied the ladder, if not I'd screw a 2x into the roof to scotch the ladder. Having spent a good portion of my life working off of ladders I realize I'm more comfortable on them than many but it doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal to handle the short pieces involved. How much siding needs to be replaced?
 
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Old 04-22-16, 09:59 AM
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Thanks for the ideas. I know this will be difficult and expensive. Mennonites built this house without modern conveniences, probably using homemade scaffolding. They used poplar for the siding attached with those square twist nails. I may end up replacing a lot of it.

It's just the front and sides that are difficult to get to. The rear doesn't have that gable like the front.

I've been on the porch roof many times, tied off with a harness. The lower boards won't be any problem, so I may work on those first. A boom lift would be perfect and simplify so many things. Maybe I can get someone from the rental company to come out and take a look at the terrain.

I believe the porch would hold scaffolding with some added bracing. The 2x6 rafters are sitting on 4x12 beams on top of those timbers. The lumber was milled to the inch, so a 2 x 6 is a full 2" by 6". Even if the porch has to come off, so be it. The house needs to be fixed. The tin is wavy due to some recent straight line winds.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 11:17 AM
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Sometimes hiring someone with the know how, equipment, and insurance is cheaper than doing it yourself.
 
 

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