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Chimney, Flue and Fireplace Work The older neighborhoods in Dallas, from Swiss Avenue to Lakewood to Munger Place, are full of tall masonry chimneys on steep roofs. A chimney sweep or mason working those houses needs roof access that does not damage the shingles and a way to work the stack itself. Getting to the Roof Without Damaging the Shingles A ladder laid straight against a gutter crushes it and puts the feet on a surface that gives. A standoff or a walk-through top section spreads the loa …

Ladder Safety for Home Inspectors A home inspector works alone, on a house nobody has looked at yet, with a camera in one hand and a schedule that does not allow for a second setup. The roof is a ten minute visit and the ladder is the whole day, which makes ladder choice the single biggest safety decision in the trade. Ten Minutes on the Roof, Six Hours on the Ladder Most inspection falls happen at the transition, not out on the field: stepping off the top of a ladder onto a roof, or swinging a …

Working on Standing Seam Metal Roofs A standing seam roof is a finished surface, not a substrate. Every step lands on the customer's visible product, and every seam is a raised folded edge that was never designed to carry a boot. Crews that treat it like shingle come away with dents they cannot explain and slips they did not expect. The Seam Is Not a Step A standing seam is folded metal standing an inch or more above the panel. Standing on it flattens the fold, and a flattened seam is visible f …

Holiday Light Installation: Ladders for Roofline Work Holiday light work happens in the worst conditions of the year: short days, cold hands, wet lawns, and a roofline the customer will look at every night for six weeks. Most of the risk sits at the ladder rather than up on the roof, and almost all of it is predictable. How Much Ladder a Two-Story Eave Actually Takes A two-story DFW house usually carries its eave between 18 and 22 feet, with a gable peak higher than that. Reaching it means the …

Guide to Roof Access Ladders, Hatches and Ship Ladders Roof access is not something a building gets right by accident. On a commercial building the route to the roof is used by maintenance crews, HVAC techs, inspectors and sometimes the public, and the difference between a proper fixed ladder or hatch and whatever was installed years ago shows up every time somebody has to get up there. If you are specifying access for a new building or fixing what is there, the choice comes down to a few decis …