Tips For Painting On A Roof??

Hi all,

Bidding on a two-story colonial style house that will require me to stand on roof over the garage. The roof is sloped on both sides, and the exterior that I need to paint is too high to reach without a ladder. I do not paint many exteriors so I am kind of green when it comes to rigging up ladders, scaffold, etc.

What are some tips and tricks you use to not only place a ladder on the roof, but to stand on a roof while painting??

I recently painted the fascia trim on some doghouse dormers on a sloped roof, paint pot in one hand, brush in the other -- ohhh boy!

Richie

I can't remember what the dang thing is called, but you can buy a ladder ramp that is just like a car ramp except it's rubberized so it won't slip. You set it on the slope of the roof, put one ladder leg on it, one on the roof for a level surface...If the roof slopes away from the wall, lean a 6 footer up against the wall....if the roof goes the other way, you'll need the boot.

Someone help me out here....I can't think of the right term for it to save my life!

Simple method i use is to set toeboards at bottom of pitch you can then set roof ladder on toeboards no ladder hook needed. I have old 24 foot extension that i broke into two 12 foot straight ladders ,very light ,only one hand to lift.Also if you need to reach higher plank can be set with one end on roof ladder and other on extension ladder running up past eave of roof, probally want a helper to hold the ladder .

The thing is called the "pivot tool". You can get at most paint stores around here. I have one and it seems to work well where and when I need it. It is sort of pricey(about $90.) Anyhow, I also use a broken apart 32' ladder to climb up the roof at gables on a roof. As far as dormers, I like to stick a nail in the corner trim and hang my bucket from it while I paint. When I am done I remove the nail, putty, and then caulk.-Hollis

Here is how we dealt with something similar.
http://www.contractortalk.com/f26/one-our-first-jobs-2850/


We also recently bought a rock climbing harness and rope for some steeper roofs, we basically repel with a paint can.

Nice job on the stucco on that job. Did you do it yourself or do you sub it out?

I cringe when I see jobs like that, because of the extra work on the substrate. That is in the same lines as historical preservation, which I would love to be able to charge enough to do. I typically get repaints where the owner wants a good job, but not back to the original look. -Hollis

Keep the roof wet where you will have foot traffic, especially on a hot day.

Pivot tool? Ive searched high and low for such a device on the net and I cant find it.

Don,,,,,too easy.
I found out around 50 that I was developing vertigo. Might be a good excuse for those of you with height problems.
BTW, I can easily do 130 ft. in a bosun's chair and fly in numerous contraptions, just have a problem with fixed objects.

I was told a story years ago. That a plumber had to fix a small leak in his own roof that was pretty steep. So, on a Saturday morning he decided without owning brackets that he would use rope. He threw the rope over his peak and tied one end to the bumper of his car and then he tied the other end around his waist and pulled himself up the roof to make the quick repair.Well, guess what his wife does every Saturday morning? Goes shopping and she never saw the rope and he was pulled up and over the roof and tragicaly dragged to his death!

I'm not sure if this was true but the person who told me was a pretty reputable person. Anybody ever hear about this or verify it?

Possible but sounds of urban legend. Check the website. Too funny while not learning anything.

Thank you. We sort of subed it out... my uncle did it. He has been in construction all his life, he is also my partners father. He did a fantastic job, and we saved the customer (a friend of ours) quite a bit of money.

We usually lay an old carpet swatch on anything one of our planks will be touching. I never thought to wet it. What is the reasoning behind that Grump?

Wow you know home much the painter charged on a this old house project to paint a house like that. Big Big money. First they stripped off the old paint off with some new like marine grade stripper than patched and sanded spots then primed then painted. I think it cost 15-20KKKKKKK

Keeping the roof wet, keeps it cool. The hotter the roof the easier it is to scuff.

Wow I didn't know that. That will certainly help us out in the future.

Maybe I live in an unusual area, but I havn't seen much of anything painted in years without the use of a boom lift. Those things can articulate around just about anything. I think almost all the big painting contractors around me own them, and the rest rent them. I've rented boom lifts and scissors lifts from time to time, and they're only about 100 bucks a day and only cost 8-12 grand for a pretty long used boom lift.

Also always always follow the OSHA guidelines for steep slope roofing installation, even though you are not installing a roof. This may mean scaffolding, toe boards and/or restraint harnesses.

A Pivot Tool?
One of these?
http://www.paintstoreonline.com/cgi-...45105101402.c1

richie, we hardly do any exterior work at all.
One of the guys that works for me was brought up in the exterior biz, so anything that has to be done outside, he's the guy for it.
He has always used the foam out of a couch cushion to stand on. It grips the shingles nicely.
Its obviously not OSHA-approved, but does give secure footing if the roof
isn't sloped (pitched?) too much.

:steps back from thread, waits for the roofers to start laughing at me: