Homeowner Forum / Construction / June 2008

Boots?
On a hot day, boots can destroy the shingles.

I always wear sneakers.

If you can find a boot with a smooth sole, than that will work.

As far as grip....  There is a roof god, and you may pray to it as soon as
you start to slip.
That is where your CLAW hammer comes into being.

What gives you the best grip, regardless of the footwear involved, is
to remember to not lean into the roof too much. You want a lot of
contact area to protect the roof and to keep you in place.  When you
lean too far forward you end up putting too much pressure on too small
of an area and the granules pull loose and you start to slide.

There's a lot of ankle flexing when roofing, so stretching helps by
loosening the muscles, tendons and ligaments.  When they're too tight
you're fighting your body as well as the roof.

As far as the footwear, I wear sneakers if I'm not going to be on the
roof for more than an hour or two.

R

J:

I'm going with sneakers too. The kind used for racquetball or handball with
the
multiple-finger tread pattern on the soles are good grippers. If you can
find them
with mesh or other kind of breathable upper construction, that is about
as good as it gets. Some people use gel sole inserts to dissipate the heat.
As long
as that didn't add slipperiness to the equation, it could be good though I
have
no experience to testify. Also, if you walk down backwards, you balance and
musculature
are usually more stable and a headlong fall means you can splay your hands
and body
out to gain maximum traction. If you walk down forwards, tumbling is a lot
easier as
it is less advantageous.

Although not directly on the subject, gardeners use an open mesh pith
helmet made of some
plant fiber (jute?) which is excellent over a bandana for dealing with Old
Sol anywhere out of
doors.

BTW, I saw an occupational job-satisfaction survey and it was little
surprise that roofers
bottomed out.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

Good sneakers with grab power......
Also, a blower/attached to an aircompressor to blow the loose sand away....
This acts like tiny ballbearings.......underfoot.
Use lots of "roof jacks" easy to install and gives you safe footing and a
place to put tools.
Lighten up the tool belt........get rid of uneccesary baggage.
Some use a harness..........if needed............with special rope that
allows you to be like "Spider Man"
jloomis

Look for a running shoe, or similar, that has a slip-resistant sole/heel.
The less expensive ones have poor upper shoe thread material, and tend to
breakdown/fall apart quickly due to repeated exposure to water and heat.  If
you buy these, replace once a month if you roof for a living.  Common "boat
deck" shoes will also work as well.