Shingles In The Heat

J-Peffer

In the 80's today, not a cloud in the sky.

I can't even shingle It's hard to be down when it's so nice out, but I'm over booked at the job was moving along really good until it got so hot.

Don't even mind the heat, the sweat in the eyes is a pain but just cant' damage those landmarks.

I've heard of people using couch cushins to stand/sit on to avoid damaging the shingles.

Any truth to that?

Ed the Roofer

Yes, they work very well, plus give you some more traction to stabilize your footing and can hold bundles on a moderate slope, but don't depend exclusively on it.

Ed

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Xception

You can also bring a hose up on the roof, and spray down the shingles that are already installed, keeping the spray below the exposed areas (as long as you've started from the bottom) to cool the shingles down and keep working.

RooferJim

you can do it, just start as early as you can. on new work we will try to do a 6 am start. the cushins work well and wareing sneakers is the norm for shinglers in the summer.

Aframe

There are pads made for roofing

I've used them for heat, protecting the shingles and my seat, and comfort when siding up dormer cheeks. Nice for kneeling and sitting, and not sliding down the hill.

They can creep out from under you on steeper slopes so I second Ed on the primary fall protection

http://www.abccatalog.com/store/view...uct=0629500248

JonM

Work the night shift ....

MJW

Bad for the I&W, bad for the shingles, bad for you. We stick to siding in the hot months or just shingle in the mornings. You can always tell a roof that is done in the heat of summer. The I&W is ruined and the shingles are permanently bonded to the I&W.

I would rather put them on in the winter, and also would trust the job more.

apkole

This tiime of year, with the high daytime temps, we usually place an order with our supplier for roof air conditioning. However, that particular item is on back order until September or so. Usually the way it goes . . . .

Bill

I strap on an AC unit to my back and bring up a 12 pack. What heat?

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PA woodbutcher

Start at 6 work till noon, go fishing or something else in the air until 5 - 5:30 and work till dark. Makes for a long day though. All part of the trade. Either that or schedule all roofs for spring and fall.

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dougger222

Agreed.

Three tear offs done this week with two more planned. 200 squares torn off and shingled in 6 days, 90's for highs all week. Half the crew works off pads the other walk side ways on the face of the shingle and they don't stay in one place for very long. Flat bottom shoes of course.

Xception

We get too much rain in the winter to do much roofing. (Victoria BC) I'm gonna make up some little a-frame tarp structures to work under with 1x2s or something...
We should be like Mr. Burns from the simpsons and instead of a crane truck to drop materials on the roof, we'll have a truck with a hydraulic arm that makes a big metal dome that covers the whole property in shade. hah.

gusthehonky

The few tricks I've picked up to minimize scars, not eliminate them, are constant hose downs, walking sideways and flatfooted, avoiding sharp pivots when changing path of travel (seems to cause the most noticeable and ugliest scars), if possible keep bundles and i&w in shade, and always have sneakers that so broken in, most would have trashed them years ago. Steep roofs which require jacks, rip a 8'X4" strip of 1/2 ply, and prop between the slot of new install, jack & plank, prevents that mess made by toes and new install, which causes a big scar when one stands up straight, usually when reloading or a stretch for back relief. I'm sure theses are common practice to almost all, but just offered as a tip if it'll help ya.

iceman61

We rely on cusions quite a bit in the warmer weather. Get started at sunrise, break in the afternoon or carpenter work, and back on the roof late afternoon. We are always grabbing new cusions at the dump or on the side of the road.
Never heard of hosing a roof down, but with 100° temps & a heat index of 115°, we may try that.

parkerfairfield

Start early. Figure out which side will have more sun on it - and start there (when possible).

Cushions rock. I used to pay $5 for a full sized couch cushion (FOAM ONLY; had to be at least 3" thick). Don't use the cushion if there's a tear; it'll rip.

Carpet works too; "upside down" of course. But cushion's better... especially as carpet fiber tends to stick - and HOs can ask you to go pick up the 13,000 small pieces if you were stupid enough to use a white carpet on the black roof.

Like Ed said ... the cushion does NO good if you're on something steep ... meaning, you're behind won't appreciate a cushion when you hit the ground after falling off.

I had a foreman that was innovative enough to (a) 100% felt in (b) put up the lawn sprinkler. He was conscience enough to not have it spray everywhere. Biggest issue with watering the roof is:
a) the guys are still hot, work slower, it's bad for them, and their production suffers (start earlier, end earlier, and calculate it into your schedule-meaning don't be unreasonable)
b) as there are no gutters on yet, the amount of debris is a pain in the butt to pickup & costs money that probably was not in the bid.
c) god forbid YOU create the leak while you're putting on the roof.

Grumpy

We use a hose to cool off the shingles and definetly use old couch cushions where you remvoe the fabric and just have the foam cushion part. You can even buy these pads at some roofing suppliers, but they are free when your neighbor's throw out their old couches.

Roofsafe

I start early and leave early, If I plan to return in the evening I stock bundles below where I'm going to work on the east side of the roof, by the time I get there the bundles are cool enough to open and layout. There will still be some heat in them but once they are spred out for coursing they cool pretty fast. We have had warm temps here all summer, 95 to 102, but that is the way I have found to work best for me.
Working opposite the sun if possible on the faces of the roof you are on untill the temperature gets to the point you know you are done for the morning and getting off the roof is only smart, there are a lot of guys who don't think about what the sun is doing to the human element. Yeah, the money may be more important but once the sun takes a person down it doesn't take much the next time, it's happened to me and I've seen it happen to others.
Most guys I know here don't push the envelope, if you work it right you can make good money in half a day, the other half of the day, in the heat, isn't worth dying for.

2ndGen

Haven't read the thread yet, but yes...cushions, carpet remnants (upside down) and actual products specifically designed for sitting yourself and the shingles your applying onto the roof:



Personally, I'll keep the shingles in the shade on the ground.

If they have to be in the sun, a piece of 4'X5' plywood with a silver reflective tarp on top of that to help keep it from getting hot when the stack isn't being loaded.

And I will hose a roof down as needed also working one end of the roof to the other to avoid having to walk back toward the finished work for any follow-up work.

One more minor tip, try to save the granules that come loos in the wrappers into one wrapper until you have collected a good amount (you can also salvage some that ends up in the gutter during the install) then go back over the scars and scruff, dab a little tar in it and sprinkle the granules over it.

(I'm going to try to get stock colored granules with all my shingle deliveries from now on.)

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MJW

Some good thinking 2ndgen, can't take that away from you, but seems like alot of dikin' around to me. Get out there and get it done before it gets to the heat of the day. Pretty simple. No need to kill yourself for one stinkin' job.

Krakkerjak

Ditto.