Is it possible to reroof a house from a scaf tower?

[tombodge]

Hi.

Im wondering If full scaffolding is needed to reroof a house? I can imagine it would make the job a hell of a lot easier but If you used a scaf tower to get materials and tools up and to gain easier access onto the roof is it really necessary to have scaffold all the way round.


Im not to bothered about the heath and safety risk. Ill be wearing a harness ect

 

[tombodge]

It will be a state roof if this makes a difference.

I know there much more lightly to get damaged from walking on and you lay them in a different way so that might make it even more tricky

 

[noseall]

Is this a wind-up?

 

[catlad]

The scaffolding is not only there for the workers benefit, it is also there to stop something falling on anybody else.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

You could probably do a reroof off a set of ladders but you'll regret it- for what the scaff will cost compared to the time you'll waste running up and down the tower, moving it, having to bring slate up one pathetic handful at a time, faffing with lengths of batten, no space for a mate to help, good odds of stepping through the ceilings, nowhere to put tools- just get the scaff in. Ask around for prices- there's discounts to be had for cash. And replace the gutters and bargeboards while the scaff is there- take you about an hour tops instead of a day messing about with ladders.

By the way, if your neighbourhood is in the least bit iffy you'll have to dismantle the tower every night or someone will have it away.

 

[tombodge]

Thanks for your help.


My problem lies with my job. They have a habit of firing me off anywhere around the country with only a days notest.


I don't want to pay for a scaffolding all the way round the house to find out im working away for the next month. On top of that i've got to repoint the whole house.

My other problem is that i've never reroofed a house before so the last thing I want is to have pressure on a dead line. Id rather take my time and work around work and can imagine once you go over your allotted time the bill will carry on rising.


I thought that although it might take alittle longer I could buy and set up a large scaf tower at one fixed location on the house with a lift to get all my materials and tools up and use that as my point of access onto the roof.

Then carry out all the work from ontop of the roof and from ontop of the ceilings.

Currenty all the lath and plaster has been removed from the ceiling and I have enough ply to cover the ceiling joists to work off the ceilings.

The roof is faily small and very shallow. From standing ontop of the ceiling the ridge line is only 5 foot 4 high.


Is this at all possible?


The only problems I can see is the soffit board facer board gutting ect and possibly the first few rows of tiles.


Im hopping it would be possible todo all the tiles from ontop of the roof and then do the facers soffits gutting at the end once it been retiled buy moving the scaf tower around the house.


Im more than happy to be told that what I want todo is impossible but would really apreate if anyone could clarify if it is at all feasible.

 

[Nozzle]

Im not to bothered about the heath and safety risk. Ill be wearing a harness ect

Wearing a harness is not enough if it's not attached to anything.... Not only that, you'll do plenty of damage to yourself if you're left hanging for a even 10 mins.

Nozzle

 

[tombodge]

Im not to bothered about the heath and safety risk. Ill be wearing a harness ect

Wearing a harness is not enough if it's not attached to anything.... Not only that, you'll do plenty of damage to yourself if you're left hanging for a even 10 mins.

Nozzle

I was going to attact it to the house


I fegot to mention that the roof is very shallow. its 5.4 high and 14 foot wide

 

[noseall]

Re-roofing a house is not the kind of job you play about at. Faffing about doing this type of job piecemeal is not a good idea at all.

You also need full width acess so that you can do the job properly with regards to batten fixing, setting out, bedding the ridge and both verge etc.

I personally think your ideas are bonkers. If I were to fragment a job like this then I would hit all of one side then all of the other.

 

[phatboy]

The scaffolding would normally go right over the house, so that the ceilings don't all come down when it rains.

I think you are creating yourself a lot of pain, sometimes its easiest to get someone in to do the job, especially in your situation of working away at almost no notice.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Get some prices on the scaff. Main cost is for the transport to get the tube to your place, the manpower to build it then the manpower to dismantle and transport back to base.

I've recently priced scaffolding for all around the house (2 10 metre runs of roof and a 10m gable end)- the quotes varied a bit but the rate for additional weeks was between £25 and £30 per week. I've looked at doing my roof from a tower as well but having done the inner 2 faces (dual ridge) from the comfort of the valley, no way I was going to totter about on a 4' x 6' tower.

If you're slating you have to start at the eaves and work upwards, your ridge dimensions sound like mine but remember, once you've battened and felted (or put your breathable membrane down, whichever) you'll not be able to walk on your ceiling joists. Even applying the felt/membrane is going to be a pain- ascend tower with roll of felt (there's a finite and quite small load capacity on zip towers by the way), step onto ceiling joists, walk all the way to the end of your roof, tack end of felt, hop over rafter, tack felt, hop over rafter, tack felt etc.

Now to fix your battens. Oops- you can't walk on the joists cos there's felt in the way. Yes you can stretch from above the felt but it will be a stretch, you're going to damage the membrane and your setting out will become an extreme chore.

Oh yes, and lightweight modern membrane doesn't half flap about in the wind......

Yes it is possible to do the job from a tower but the risks you are running and the additional obstacles you're facing in order to save a grand or so are quite significant. As someone else said, fall arrest gear is fine but you NEED someone to rescue you within 10 minutes if you've gone over the edge. Fall arrest is like other PPE- a last resort where you can't manage the risk. Fall arrest on a full roof is a bit iffy- if you're at the farthest point from your anchor when you slip there'll probably be enough line to let you hit the ground or something equally solid before the line gets any tension. That'll smart a bit.

And if this is your first roof you'll find it a lot easier working from a stable suitable working platform with handrails and no fall arrest line to trip over

 

[Cabbyfan]

I was just quoted £630 Exvat to scaffold wrapped around a semi bungalow for a hip to gable conversion. No brainier in my opinion, way easier, quicker and most importantly safer not just for me but also the people helping me.

 

[garyo]

As others have said - ring around. When I did my own roof I explained to the scaff companies that it was a DIY job and I was going to take forever, so didn't want to pay rent, but it was cash, and only a small amount of scaff (5M x 5M footprint)

All the work is in delivery and erection, so I got it for £400 and kept it there for 4 months. That price even included them coming back half way through to lift the staging up from 1st floor level to roof level. He said it was such a small amount of gear compared with what they normally deal with that he really didn't care how long I kept it, as long as it didn't get silly - like a couple of years!

You'll be working at 1/8th the speed without scaff. I'm a die-hard DIY-er but doing that without scaff is a step too far, even for me!

 

[terrypin]

The scaffolding would normally go right over the house, so that the ceilings don't all come down when it rains.

I think you are creating yourself a lot of pain, sometimes its easiest to get someone in to do the job, especially in your situation of working away at almost no notice.

Right over the house?

This is only a re-roof we are talking about, nothing more.

To the op

Scaffold is a must for both the contractor and Joe public's safety as well as making the whole job a lot easier.

Don't feck around, just get the job done as quickly and safely as possible.

Having read the op's other posts on this matter, May I also recommend Delia Smith's website, she may also have a recipe for disaster.