Is It Okay To Walk On Asphalt Roofs

There are a few devices and strategies you can use if you choose to walk on your roof.

Is it okay to walk on asphalt roofs.

Don t walk on your roof if it is wet or icy. Aside from slipping on ice winter is not a bad time to walk on that roof but not the best time. 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. These roofs are not safe to walk upon unless you know exactly where to step.

Beyond asphalt shingles even wood shingles can become cracked or dislodged. Even asphalt gets damaged from repeated traffic something that isn t necessarily true of metal. Clean your roof only after determining that you can safely walk its surface. Steep pitch roofs judgment of the inspector.

High roofs judgment of the inspector. Some materials like asphalt shingles are flexible and don t necessarily crack under stress. If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro. If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro.

Don t use a pressure washer. In fact metal roofs can stand up to you walking on them better than ceramic tiles and some other roofing systems. Advice about walking on inspecting asphalt shingle roofs. Video of the day.

Roof is uncomfortable or feels unsafe or too fragile for any reason in the opinion of the inspector. If you have to walk on the roof to take care of a problem try to do it at the most mild time of day in the morning in the summer and the afternoon in the winter. Inspect your roof visually before attempting to walk on it. A pressure washer will loosen the granules embedded in the asphalt shingles and expose the asphalt to uv rays which will shorten its lifespan.

What happens if you bend the shingle and how easy is it to scrape the protective grains off the surface. Even when absolutely necessary it should only be done by a professional. We do not walk directly on any asphalt shingle roof that has one or more of these hazards. Walking on a roof when the shingles are brittle in cold weather or soft in hot weather can damage the shingles.

Generally speaking it is as safe to walk on a metal roof 30 or 50 years after installation as the day it was installed. But before you head up inspect the roof from the ground and keep an eye out for any badly deteriorated shingles. Walking on asphalt shingles is not a good practice unless it is done to inspect and repair the shingles. There is no need to walk on the roof unless it is for the rare and occasional repair.

Generally these types of materials are far safer to walk on since you won t be risking damaging your roof in order to do so. Then we manipulated each of them to check out two things.