another arguement for always walking the roof

[Joe Farsetta]

I walk every roof I can... That's not to say, however, that in a majority of cases, I simply cannot.


Remember personal safety, as well as ladder safety. The life and limb you save may be your own.

[Frank Albert]

Nice pic. I looked at one similar to that recently.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by rhensel

I walk tile roofs...there are too many items to miss up there.

How often do you break tiles, Russel? Do you pay for the damage when you break them? Do you walk all tiles or use judgment on which to walk?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by tspargo

I walk on nearly all of them....

I have broken a few over the years too! 0 broken tiles in '09 though!! Luckily the times I have broken them there were other issues present and I let the customer know what the deal-i-o was and I would be responsible to the extent of the damage I caused. Even with that, I find enough other issues that I can easily offset the liability created by me walking them to the liability of missing issues with the roof.

As a matter of fact, unless it is fairly new construction, the majority of the time there is something up on the roof that will need repair or at least maintenance.

Here's a good poll, how many roofs receive "Roof Covering in Acceptable Condition" (or similar) as a percentage of roofs inspected....Meaning that you found no defects and no repairs of any type needed.

If it can break... don't walk it. You have no right to damage the homeowner's property during an inspection.

Will it break? There are as many answers as there are roof types, but there are no easy answers.

You need to know what you're doing and be able to evaluate what you're looking at accurately. InterNACHI offers courses that will help.

[Tim Spargo]

Originally Posted by kshepard

If it can break... don't walk it. You have no right to damage the homeowner's property during an inspection.

Will it break? There are as many answers as there are roof types, but there are no easy answers.

You need to know what you're doing and be able to evaluate what you're looking at accurately. InterNACHI offers courses that will help.

Hi Kenton,

In light of a comment about promoting walking roofs, and an injury recently to a fellow Nachi Member and an inspector locally to me, I'll "walk" lightly on recommending doing so.

At this point in my inspection career, I'm pretty sure I know and am comfortable with what I'm doing, in regards to what types, benefit vs. risk etc. Not to say we can't all learn more, myself included. That's why I come here! If you were directing the comment towards me, I certainly don't walk the very friable tiles, such as clay or many of the concrete that are in visibly poor condition before stepping onto the roof. The other neat one is some of the older homes in CA that were skip sheathed and then tiled, if you've stepped on one, you'll know

As far as the "If it can break and we have no right to damage" comment. There are many things we do and inherit certain risks, as we all know when it comes to our profession. I agree we have no right to damage property, although I think it's a stretch to construe that a tile roof should not be walked on the premise that a possibility of breaking a tile exists. What about a cold day? If it's very cold and say... a roof was sheathed with 7/16 OSB and you step on a seam between 2 pieces of ply while walking a COMP ROOF, are you not possibly damaging it as well?

My point was multi fold, but to include at least: Walking/surveying in/on Roofs, Attics, crawlspaces even walking around a pool etc. have both personal risks and like it or not some risk to the property, that's why I and I'm sure many here are insured and careful. Something I had also made clear was to be upfront about damage that we may cause. This is true in any circumstance for most of us.

If I'm stating the obvious, I'm wondering specifically what the comment was for is all. If it is a generalization or a specific response I'm curious to know.

Thanks

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by tspargo

Hi Kenton,

In light of a comment about promoting walking roofs, and an injury recently to a fellow Nachi Member and an inspector locally to me, I'll "walk" lightly on recommending doing so.

At this point in my inspection career, I'm pretty sure I know and am comfortable with what I'm doing, in regards to what types, benefit vs. risk etc. Not to say we can't all learn more, myself included. That's why I come here! If you were directing the comment towards me, I certainly don't walk the very friable tiles, such as clay or many of the concrete that are in visibly poor condition before stepping onto the roof. The other neat one is some of the older homes in CA that were skip sheathed and then tiled, if you've stepped on one, you'll know
As far as the "If it can break and we have no right to damage" comment. There are many things we do and inherit certain risks, as we all know when it comes to our profession. I agree we have no right to damage property, although I think it's a stretch to construe that a tile roof should not be walked on the premise that a possibility of breaking a tile exists. What about a cold day? If it's very cold and say... a roof was sheathed with 7/16 OSB and you step on a seam between 2 pieces of ply while walking a COMP ROOF, are you not possibly damaging it as well?

My point was multi fold, but to include at least: Walking/surveying in/on Roofs, Attics, crawlspaces even walking around a pool etc. have both personal risks and like it or not some risk to the property, that's why I and I'm sure many here are insured and careful. Something I had also made clear was to be upfront about damage that we may cause. This is true in any circumstance for most of us.

If I'm stating the obvious, I'm wondering specifically what the comment was for is all. If it is a generalization or a specific response I'm curious to know.

Thanks

Tim, are you asking me something? Are you making an observation? Man, i don't understand your post. Sorry.

[Bobby G. Michael]

I agree with you Anthony.