Is It Okay To Walk On Asphalt Roofs

If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro.

Is it okay to walk on asphalt roofs.

Some materials like asphalt shingles are flexible and don t necessarily crack under stress. Walking on a roof when the shingles are brittle in cold weather or soft in hot weather can damage the shingles. Beyond asphalt shingles even wood shingles can become cracked or dislodged. Generally speaking it is as safe to walk on a metal roof 30 or 50 years after installation as the day it was installed.

If the slope is too steep to easily traverse or if your house is more than one story you should hire a pro. But before you head up inspect the roof from the ground and keep an eye out for any badly deteriorated shingles. What happens if you bend the shingle and how easy is it to scrape the protective grains off the surface. Clean your roof only after determining that you can safely walk its surface.

We do not walk directly on any asphalt shingle roof that has one or more of these hazards. Then we manipulated each of them to check out two things. Advice about walking on inspecting asphalt shingle roofs. There is no need to walk on the roof unless it is for the rare and occasional repair.

Roof is uncomfortable or feels unsafe or too fragile for any reason in the opinion of the inspector. Even asphalt gets damaged from repeated traffic something that isn t necessarily true of metal. A pressure washer will loosen the granules embedded in the asphalt shingles and expose the asphalt to uv rays which will shorten its lifespan. 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.

Locating these damaged shingles is paramount because stepping on them will cause them to break out from underneath you. It is not a good idea to walk upon a roof for any other reason. Steep pitch roofs judgment of the inspector. Video of the day.

Don t use a pressure washer. Walking on asphalt shingles is not a good practice unless it is done to inspect and repair the shingles. These roofs are not safe to walk upon unless you know exactly where to step. Even when absolutely necessary it should only be done by a professional.

In fact metal roofs can stand up to you walking on them better than ceramic tiles and some other roofing systems. Aside from slipping on ice winter is not a bad time to walk on that roof but not the best time. Inspect your roof visually before attempting to walk on it. Don t walk on your roof if it is wet or icy.

If you see any splits or areas that appear to be damaged avoid walking on them. 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.