Is It Okay To Walk On Asphalt Roofs

In fact metal roofs can stand up to you walking on them better than ceramic tiles and some other roofing systems.

Is it okay to walk on asphalt roofs.

Some materials like asphalt shingles are flexible and don t necessarily crack under stress. Beyond asphalt shingles even wood shingles can become cracked or dislodged. It is not a good idea to walk upon a roof for any other reason. Inspect your roof visually before attempting to walk on it.

Locating these damaged shingles is paramount because stepping on them will cause them to break out from underneath you. Video of the day. Advice about walking on inspecting asphalt shingle roofs. 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.

What happens if you bend the shingle and how easy is it to scrape the protective grains off the surface. Even asphalt gets damaged from repeated traffic something that isn t necessarily true of metal. Generally speaking it is as safe to walk on a metal roof 30 or 50 years after installation as the day it was installed. Steep pitch roofs judgment of the inspector.

Clean your roof only after determining that you can safely walk its surface. Don t walk on your roof if it is wet or icy. There are a few devices and strategies you can use if you choose to walk on your roof. A pressure washer will loosen the granules embedded in the asphalt shingles and expose the asphalt to uv rays which will shorten its lifespan.

These roofs are not safe to walk upon unless you know exactly where to step. But before you head up inspect the roof from the ground and keep an eye out for any badly deteriorated shingles. If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro. We do not walk directly on any asphalt shingle roof that has one or more of these hazards.

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. Walking on a roof when the shingles are brittle in cold weather or soft in hot weather can damage the shingles. Even when absolutely necessary it should only be done by a professional. High roofs judgment of the inspector.

Don t use a pressure washer. Then we manipulated each of them to check out two things. If you see any splits or areas that appear to be damaged avoid walking on them. Aside from slipping on ice winter is not a bad time to walk on that roof but not the best time.

Roof is uncomfortable or feels unsafe or too fragile for any reason in the opinion of the inspector. If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro.