3 ms·

Any modern roofer or other worker that could fall far is wearing a safety harness (with some exceptions for flat roofs that have railing set up).

jollyllama 1y ago
laughs in independent subcontractor
infecto 1y ago
I am going to wager that 90% of resi roofers are not using harnesses unless the pitch of the roof is extreme. It’s all about the couch cushion.
- trollbridge 1y ago
  Generally speaking you start doing that stuff once you get to 3 or more storeys, which is why residential mass builds are typically 2 or less. Workers’ compensation will specifically have job categories for work done on buildings 2 storeys or less, and it goes way up once you get to 3 (and even more for 4+). Even with all the gear, an unpredictable 80 lb object hurtling towards you is a major problem. Not to mention becoming a problem for any standing below.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- ghaff 1y ago
  I had a chimney inspection and cap on my pretty steep pitched residential roof last year in MA on 2 story house. No harnesses that I saw. Wouldn’t be for me. Certainly harnesses and other safety gear are much more common in many situations.
- toss1 1y ago
  YUP Was working for a construction guy I overall respected, and he had us going up on a 3-story barn roof without any kind of roped-in protection. Although I was a fairly experienced rock climber (or perhaps because of it), I quit at lunch. I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to have the backup finances to be able to afford to quit.
- tlavoie 1y ago
  A coworker (also works from home) had some commotion across the street, when one of the roofers on his neighbour's place went off the second-story roof. All these guys were wearing harnesses, but not clipped in. The one who fell was luck in that he hit a garden shed roof rather than another 8' to the concrete, but was definitely hurt. Fire department came, yelled at these guys for being idiots. Roofers said they'd comply, and once the FD left, went back to what they were doing. This is right after losing a guy to a fall.
SAI_Peregrinus 1y ago
I've never seen residential house roofers wearing a safety harness, even on 2-story jobs. There's generally nowhere to clip the harness to on such buildings, so it wouldn't help anyway.
- bradfa 1y ago
  There's roof safety anchor systems which are designed for residential roofs. Look for something like the Ridgepro anchor: https://www.theridgepro.com/ https://www.theridgepro.com/ It does seem best when using lag bolts to secure such an anchor to the roof but even when not screwed to the roof should provide some level of fall safety.
  - ozten 1y ago
    Are these used in practice? In what regions? In Seattle suburbs, I've never seen a crew wearing any kind of attached harness.
    - RankingMember 1y ago
      They should be, but I also rarely see roofers in harnesses around here on the other side of the country. It's one thing when it's a roofer himself making the (stupid) decision, but a lot of the guys I see actually on the roofs are non-English-speaking laborers basically told to get the job done and not ask questions.
trollbridge 1y ago
You don’t wear a harness when framing and roofing 1 and 2 storey buildings. What would you even attach yourself to? “I will not be hit by an 80 pound flying missile” is a reasonable expectation for construction workers
- potato3732842 1y ago
  [flagged]
- rascul 1y ago
  The framers have nothing to attach to until there's structure, and they don't really need to get up there much until they do the decking. They can attach lines to the ridge then. So can the roofers when it's their turn. When I was a roofer, I think we might have used safety lines and harnesses twice, when the pitch was too steep.
Polizeiposaune 1y ago
Years ago I heard a comment from someone in the trades that (in his opinion) harnesses are a net negative on typical single-family-houses - the presence of the rigging (particularly when there are multiple workers on the roof) creates trip hazards that make falls and injuries more likely. Whether or not it's true, if significant numbers of crews believe this they won't be wearing harnesses on low roofs.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

jollyllama 1y ago

laughs in independent subcontractor

infecto 1y ago

I am going to wager that 90% of resi roofers are not using harnesses unless the pitch of the roof is extreme. It’s all about the couch cushion.

trollbridge 1y ago
Generally speaking you start doing that stuff once you get to 3 or more storeys, which is why residential mass builds are typically 2 or less. Workers’ compensation will specifically have job categories for work done on buildings 2 storeys or less, and it goes way up once you get to 3 (and even more for 4+). Even with all the gear, an unpredictable 80 lb object hurtling towards you is a major problem. Not to mention becoming a problem for any standing below.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
ghaff 1y ago
I had a chimney inspection and cap on my pretty steep pitched residential roof last year in MA on 2 story house. No harnesses that I saw. Wouldn’t be for me. Certainly harnesses and other safety gear are much more common in many situations.
toss1 1y ago
YUP Was working for a construction guy I overall respected, and he had us going up on a 3-story barn roof without any kind of roped-in protection. Although I was a fairly experienced rock climber (or perhaps because of it), I quit at lunch. I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to have the backup finances to be able to afford to quit.
tlavoie 1y ago
A coworker (also works from home) had some commotion across the street, when one of the roofers on his neighbour's place went off the second-story roof. All these guys were wearing harnesses, but not clipped in. The one who fell was luck in that he hit a garden shed roof rather than another 8' to the concrete, but was definitely hurt. Fire department came, yelled at these guys for being idiots. Roofers said they'd comply, and once the FD left, went back to what they were doing. This is right after losing a guy to a fall.

SAI_Peregrinus 1y ago

I've never seen residential house roofers wearing a safety harness, even on 2-story jobs. There's generally nowhere to clip the harness to on such buildings, so it wouldn't help anyway.

bradfa 1y ago
There's roof safety anchor systems which are designed for residential roofs. Look for something like the Ridgepro anchor: https://www.theridgepro.com/ https://www.theridgepro.com/ It does seem best when using lag bolts to secure such an anchor to the roof but even when not screwed to the roof should provide some level of fall safety.
- ozten 1y ago
  Are these used in practice? In what regions? In Seattle suburbs, I've never seen a crew wearing any kind of attached harness.
  - RankingMember 1y ago
    They should be, but I also rarely see roofers in harnesses around here on the other side of the country. It's one thing when it's a roofer himself making the (stupid) decision, but a lot of the guys I see actually on the roofs are non-English-speaking laborers basically told to get the job done and not ask questions.

trollbridge 1y ago

You don’t wear a harness when framing and roofing 1 and 2 storey buildings. What would you even attach yourself to? “I will not be hit by an 80 pound flying missile” is a reasonable expectation for construction workers

potato3732842 1y ago
[flagged]
rascul 1y ago
The framers have nothing to attach to until there's structure, and they don't really need to get up there much until they do the decking. They can attach lines to the ridge then. So can the roofers when it's their turn. When I was a roofer, I think we might have used safety lines and harnesses twice, when the pitch was too steep.

Polizeiposaune 1y ago

Years ago I heard a comment from someone in the trades that (in his opinion) harnesses are a net negative on typical single-family-houses - the presence of the rigging (particularly when there are multiple workers on the roof) creates trip hazards that make falls and injuries more likely. Whether or not it's true, if significant numbers of crews believe this they won't be wearing harnesses on low roofs.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]