InspectAPedia ^®

Roof Safety & Roof Fragility - When to Stay Off of a Roof RoofAPedia © Asphalt & other types roof covering fragility, damage vulnerability Roof inspection safety - when to stay off of various types of roofs How to do repair work on a fragile roof surface Types & photographs of organic felt asphalt roof shingle defects & failures

This website tells readers how to identify fragile or unsafe roof surfaces, when to stay off of them, how to repair them. By listing common causes of asphalt roof shingle failures and how to recognize them, building owners and roofing contractors may also be able to reduce the occurrence of asphalt roof shingle storage, handling, and installation errors that affect roof life. Readers are also invited contribute roof failure information to the web author for research purposes. web author for research purposes.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Roof shingle fragility and damage risks

Walking on some roofs causes damage: The photograph at the top of this page shows what happened when an inspector stepped on the fragile corner of an asphalt roof shingle. This pattern of breakage traced his footprints right up the roof to the chimney and back down the other side. These are the very "footprints of damage" which we have reported in some other articles on fragile, old, worn roof shingles.

This "failed" roof was not leaking until the fellow who was asked to inspect it walked across this fragile surface. From a ladder at the roof edge one could clearly see the virtual footprints of broken shingle edges where the "inspector" had walked. In this case the "inspector" was a roofing contractor who came back down to the ground and told the home owner that she needed a new roof right away.

She was upset because her ASHI-certified home inspector had said that the thought she could use the roof for another two to five years. Our opinion was that she did need a new roof very soon but that had not been the case until "bigfoot" had stomped all over it.

Worn out fragile roofs: The roof in the photograph shown here is one which is worn out, probably already leaking at least into the layers of roofing material, and it is so fragile that it should not be walked-on. I would stay off of worn, brittle, or cupped-shingle roofs, particularly in cold weather (shingles are more likely to break). If we absolutely have to walk on such a roof, we would tiptoe carefully, avoiding stepping on the raised or cupped shingle sections, or if doing repairs, we would prop a ladder up off of the roof surface and work from that scaffold as is sometimes done with slate or other fragile roof surface repairs.

Guidelines for Direct Walking-On Inspection of Various Roof Surfaces & Roof Conditions

Some home inspectors reduce their workload and speed the the job by asserting that they do not walk on any roof surface under any condition, citing reasons of safety or fear of damaging the roof surface. But expert inspectors generally agree that there are many roof areas, conditions, and important roof defects, even total roof failure (such as thermal splitting), that are simply not visible except direct access to the roof edge (by ladder or other means) or by walking on the roof.

• Do not try to walk on any roof which is: too high, steep, wet, slippery, fragile, for safe access, and do not walk on any roof which is installed over an incomplete, damaged, or rotted surface, as you might, like my helper on one roofing job, fall right through the roof surface!
  
  The determination of the safety and reasonableness of inspection method of any roof (or any other building component) is the sole responsibility of the building inspector, with the exception that the building owner also has the right to ask that the inspector omit or not access any building component or system. The inspector is required in all cases to describe how an inspection was performed or if it was not performed, to explain why and to explain the implications of this to his or her client.
  
  
• Cement asbestos roof shingles: these shingles are as fragile as slate; it's best to stay off of this surface. Though we've walked carefully on a few such roofs it's easy to damage them. See ASBESTOS CEMENT ROOFING
  
  
• Cupped roof shingles: stay off in cold weather; inspect the shingles from the roof edge, from upper building windows, or if the roof must be walked-on, step carefully in the cupped portions on tiptoe, avoiding stepping on the raised curled portions of the shingles as otherwise you'll break off large corners and may lead to an immediate need for re-roofing. If the shingles are also brittle, even in warm weather, do not walk on the roof. See CUPPING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  
  
• Cracked roof shingles: vary in fragility, depending on shingle age and reason for cracking. Some "cracked" roof surfaces such as roofs damaged by thermal splitting, are not likely to be further damaged by careful direct inspection by walking their surfaces. See CRACKS in FIBERGLASS SHINGLES
  
  
• Curled roof shingles: as with cupped shingles, stay off in cold weather; inspect the shingles from the roof edge, from upper building windows, or if the roof must be walked-on, step carefully on the flat portions of the shingle, on tiptoe, avoiding stepping on the raised curled edges of the shingles as otherwise you'll break off the edges. If the shingles are also brittle, even in warm weather, do not walk on the roof. See CURLING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  
  
• Fishmouthed roof shingles: are fragile and may be damaged if you step on the raised portion of shingle. If the fishmouthing is on a fairly new roof and the shingles are not otherwise brittle it may be possible to walk on such a surface. See FISHMOUTHING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  
  
• Low-slope or single membrane roofs: can often be safely walked-on but beware of fragile, worn roll roofing which may be damaged by careless foot traffic, and beware of raised blisters, ridges, wrinkles which can also be damaged by careless walking.
  
  
• Metal roof surfaces: can be walked-on provided (1) the roof is not too steep and (2) the metal roofing was installed over closely-spaced nailers or sheathing. Beware that some metal roofs may be installed directly over rafters and widely spaced horizontal nailers, and may be fragile or subject to denting. Do not step on raised seams or other flashing areas that may be damaged; beware, metal roofs are very slippery when wet. The metal roof in the right-hand photo above was high, steep, and slippery. We would not consider walking on such a surface.
  
  
• Slate roofs: such as the one shown in the left-hand photograph above, are fragile and are likely to be damaged by foot traffic; it's best to stay off of slate roof surfaces during a building inspection. See SLATE ROOF INSPECTION & REPAIR
  
  
• Wood shingle roofs: such as the one in the center photograph above are fragile and will be damaged by any foot traffic. We've walked on new, good-condition wood shingle roofs but they are easily damaged by foot traffic which can cause splits in the shingles. In addition wood shingles are often slippery and dangerous to walk on and absolutely slippery when wet.
  
  
• Wet, Icy, Steep, Snow-Covered roofs: are unsafe to walk on in most circumstances.

...

Technical Reviewers & References

Search InspectAPedia

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia^® Website
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. If you just "scroll down" you'll miss some important articles. See links at page left.

ROOFING INSPECTION & REPAIR
CERTIFICATIONS for ROOFING CONTRACTORS
CHOOSING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR
ASBESTOS CEMENT ROOFING
ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES
  SHINGLE LIFE / WEAR FACTORS
  ASPHALT SHINGLE FAILURE TYPES
  ALGAE, FUNGUS, LICHENS, MOSS on SHINGLES
  BLACK STAIN REMOVAL & PREVENTION
  BLISTERS on ASPHALT SHINGLES
  CRACKS in FIBERGLASS SHINGLES
  CUPPING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  CURLING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  FISHMOUTHING ASPHALT SHINGLES
  GRANULE LOSS from SHINGLES
  HAIL DAMAGED SHINGLES
  LADDERING & STAIR STEPPING SHINGLES
  MOSS & LICHENS on SHINGLES
  ORGANIC FELT SHINGLE DEFECTS
  SPLICE DEFECTS on ASPHALT SHINGLES
  STAINS on ROOF SHINGLES
  WHAT ARE ASPHALT SHINGLES
FIRE RETARDANT PLYWOOD
  ROOF INSPECTION SAFETY & LIMITS
SLATE ROOF INSPECTION & REPAIR
  SLATE ROOF PHOTO LIBRARY
  SLATE ROOF INSPECTION CLASS
SOD ROOFING
STANDARDS for ROOFING
STONE ROOFING
THATCH ROOFING
TILE ROOFING
WARRANTIES for ROOF SHINGLES
  SHINGLE CLASS ACTION
  REPORTING SHINGLE FAILURES
  ROOF FAILURE REPORT FORM
WOOD SHAKE & SHINGLE ROOFING
WORKMANSHIP & WIND DAMAGE

• Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com
• Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com
• Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

...

InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Building Inspection, Problem Diagnosis, Forensic Investigation & Testing, Repair Consulting

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting