House has cedar shake roof, in almost mint condition, 11:12 pitch, one story to the eaves, roof planes are maybe 18 feet long from eave to ridge, and the roof is “sprung”, meaning the rafter tails kick up at the eave. Customer wants cedar ridge cap removed and replaced with copper that comes in 10′ pieces.
Usually I would place scaffolding up to the eave, then lay a ladder on the roof with the feet attached to the scaffold. Use the right length and you want walk up and perch at the work spot. With the sprung shape this would be hard, and there is massive shrubbery in many places that would completely prevent scaffolding.
I was thinking the easiest thing is a boom truck with a bosun’s chair. Operator could move the guy in the chair along to demo the ridge caps, then back as the copper is placed. I know it’s $100+/hr. but tell me an easier, safer, and lower-impact way and I’ll do it.
Replies
Can't lean a ladder against a gable end?
looks like now is the time to do that bosun chair to me
you are one of the best around at practical calculus
safety & efficiency biggest concerns
anybody else close need highwire work?
Need to remove ridge caps all along and replace with 10' sticks of copper cap. I could get on by leaning at ladder against the gable end but would basically be straddling the ridge 100% of the time. Not fun, not easy to do a good job. I guess I could at least strip the cedar caps that way.
Whoever taught you that roofing ridge work was supposed to be easy or fun?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Hey... how long to drive from downtown Seattle to your place?
70 minutes at 4am. I'd probably allow 90 during off commute hours. Seriously though David, avoid I-5 between Seattle and Olympia 6-9am and 3-6pm any weekday (probably farther north than Seattle, but I have no personal knowledge). Freakin brutal. And 99 and 167 can be just as bad.Hey. Don't let me forget to give you those clamps when you come, okay?
The clamps? The clamps we first discussed in 1973?? WOW!!
I'm coming down Saturday around lunchtime and leaving sometime in the evening. Hopefully there's not a bunch of ballgames in Seattle or anything like that.
David, I can't guarantee anything at all about the traffic.But I CAN guarantee that you will be sorry that you didn't spend more time at the fest...I'm not worried, I'm curious...You are always welcome at Quittintime
This is the most blitzin' August on record. Huge amount of work, several visitors coming here, the Fest, travel to Portland tomorrow for the w/e. It's nuts. I can get away for one day, that's it. Probably be a 16 hour day on the road for 6-8 hours with y'all. It will be huge for me to put some faces and people with the names, after all these years.
Here's what I used for my ridge and hip work.
http://www.genieindustries.com/sb-series/sb-s60.asp
I'm not sure of the capacity (stick length) of the boom truck your thinking of using, but this baby has no outriggers to deal with and can be operated by 1 man.
It WILL leave ruts so that is a consideration. It's $400/day in my area and I can get that same rate from 3pm on Friday till 6am Monday morning.
Your working on your belly so that ain't no fun.... but better then a bosun's chair IMO.
If you can access the ridge at the gable, you can make a "sled" to sit on. Take a plywood scrap large enough to sit on (or a piece of 2x12) and a couple of 2x12 scraps a foot long or so and screw them together so the 2x12s become runners sitting on the roof. The runners should miss the ridge caps and the seat should clear the caps.
Climb the ladder, take the ridge off as far as you can reach, put a safety rope attachment on the ridge and plop your sled on the ridge. I'd also put a short ladder on a ridge hook on to make the transistion from ladder to sled easier. It might be easier if you can lay a ladder against the roof plane to put the chicken ladder on and access the ridge that way.
Once you get your butt on the sled, push it along the ridge and tear off the caps. Have another attachment point or two (you didn't say how long the ridge is) with you and carabine the rope to them as you progress. If you have access to the other gable and a helper, have them bring your ridge cap to you from the other end and you'll only have to make one round trip. Have the helper lay all the caps on the ridge and slide your sled over them. Slide all but one piece of ridge toward the other end. Attach the 1st piece and repeat. You can slide right over the caps to reach the attachment points to remove them when they obstruct your progress.
If you use a boom lift, you can tilt the basket to match the roof pitch and get about 10' of ridge done with each repositioning and would probably be safest for one person. The boson's chair sounds really awkward. I could be done with this job while I was waiting delivery of either piece of equipment with ladders and the sled.
Here's Max riding a sled, tweeking the ridge. You might be able to make it out.
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http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Edited 7/26/2009 10:13 pm ET by seeyou
Have you ever driven 8's thru a 1X and then built a little seat to use on a shake roof?
Nope. Do the nails grab into the cedar?http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
yeah, just build a little seat 2 one to sit and one for material. up to a 10/12 we used to hand nail all shakes.
Use a ladder to the eave and then a ladder hook over the ridge for the chicken ladder
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I'd install a bunch of my homemade 12 / 12 brackets with copper tabs into the roof every 8 ' and plank these in down 2' from the ridge .
Then the work is simple and easy -- you can reach both sides from this close to the ridge and kneel down with kneepads and be comfortable for way less than the boom lift .
So you would be fastening thru the existing roofing and then putting a drop of blackjack in each hole as you removed the brackets?
Edited 7/27/2009 9:02 am by davidmeiland
Dave, he makes his brackets with copper along the top. When removing he justs cuts the copper off just below the nail. No holes!>G<
Ingenius!!!
I have shakes on a 12/12 roof. da da .
Ive had and have the same obstacle . Ive sprayed several too. Mine included. Ive painted many steep roofs mostly medal.
I ran into a guy that sprayed nothing but roofs . He had may offerings . The best one I learned from him. He uses a climbing set up with block and tackle . . They sell shoes that will grip cedar shakes .. You can walk around on a 12/12 roof with cleat shoes and climing gear. An ATV works the best on the ground to tie off to because its portable . You wanna work on the ridge , its simple . You tie off when you kneel down. Youve got knee pads on so its a piece of cake .
Somthing else . You cant make a 12/12 roof leak at the top with a screw. Not on shakes anyway. The cedar will swell up. Thats the deal about cedar shakes. They arent just for looks . When they get wet every thing tightens up. Ive screwed jacks to them and never had a problem. Few rains later and you cant see the screw hole . Its true. On split shakes anyway. I wouldnt do it on cedar shingles. Shakes are rough anyway.
David,
I'd nail into the roof thru a gap between shingles , remove once done , then " bib " with metal -- no cement ever .
Walter
David ,
Heres a sample of the homemade brackets I would use for your job.
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Makes sense. I assume the sheet metal extending from the end of the bracket would slide up under the shingles and then get screwed to the deck?
Suppose for the sake of argument that I own about 40 of these:
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A guy could ride a sled along the ridge, install a jack every 6 feet or so by sliding the tongue up under a course of shingles and nailing thru a gap between them, and then get walk boards in place. Reverse the procedure to get down.
Any merit to this idea?
David--
I bought six of those damned adjustable jacks a month ago because that's all the local big-box had in stock and I was short a few for a big roof.
Took the damned things back the next afternoon after the adjustable leg on one unhooked itself on a bounce and left my other man hanging from the ridge by his finger tips.
Get fixed jacks, or build your own like Walter.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
David,
That wouldn't be something that I'd use , but we all have different methods and techniques .
I'd use a peak ladder with hook even though you have a swooped eaves to deal with , set the homemade wooden brackets -- see how they are wider and more stable than those you pictured .
Use 8' planks nailed into the wooden tops , even setting the planks just halfway on the brackets so you have a level walkway , not lapped planks .
That would be an easy set up for me cause I do these types of projects often on slate .
How long is the ridge length you;re faced with ?
Walter
Walter-
It's funny how some see this project as a major undertaking and others see it as no big deal.
David: with Walter's jacks you could nail the flange so the nails would be covered by the new ridge roll.
I'd forgo the jacks and use several short ladders with ridge hooks and maybe a sled if I had a helper. We don't know if you're working alone or how long the ridge is.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
I found I could use a regular ladder jack on my chicken ladder too..I just used a welders Vice grip to keep the pic from moving, the other end of the pic was on a dormer ridge.
Other wise the pic wants to be at the max angle the ladder jack will go to.
His ridge job sounds like an easy one compared to some of the stuff we've cobbled up.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt
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Grant,
I like to be a bit further down from the ridge than what you're suggesting - unless the copper tabs are much longer.
Everyone has their own preferences to how it feels comfortable to work a spot like that.
I use my brackets usually on a daily basis , for chimney work , valleys , skylights , etc.
Just stopped raining so I'm off to flash a chimney in galv . on an apt. house .
Walter
David ,
Did you decide on a method to use yet ?
Walter
I'm leaning towards shinnying up there and placing a bunch of the Qualcraft roof jacks and 2x10s. I do own three buckets of them, but we almost never use them for actual roofing. When building a house or addition that's 8:12 or steeper I set up walkboards on the entire place as we work upwards with the roof sheathing and felt. They are there as we side the dormers or other areas adjacent to the roof, or for running plumbing vents etc. Then I take them down and the roofers do whatever they want to do for their part.
BUT.... happened to find out by sheer coincidence that the owner of the project in question sued a guy who worked for him previously. I'm trying to learn the facts on that before deciding if I want the job.
Oh, that's always good to know...
Let a young man do this. Does your wife know you're contemplating doing this job?