Steep Roof Pitch Safety

Osha defines a steep roof as any roof with a rise run ratio over 4 12 18 43 degrees.

Steep roof pitch safety.

While most standard pitched residential roofs seldom exceed a 12 12 pitch 45 degrees the landscape is occasionally marked by a design which harkens back to earlier times when much greater roof pitches were more common. Another benefit of a steeper pitch is that you can get more uv to your roof if you ve got solar panels. They use the same terms low sloped and steep roofs but their definition differs. Some types of stone roofs have a very restrictive roof pitch.

The occupational safety and health administration osha in the united states of america has a different approach on sloped roofs. While there are clearly some benefits to steeper roofing it doesn t make them easier to work on. Architecturally described as a dramatic pitch the extremely steep roof esr is. Slater at work rothesay isle of bute.

You ll also have more choice of roofing materials on a steeper roof. According to the osha 1926 500 a steep roof is described as a roof with a slope greater than 4 12 vertical to horizontal. Working on roofs with pitches too steep for safety require a staging of scaffolding boards secured with roof brackets. A steeper pitch can also reduce the risk of ice damage in the winter.

The possibility of slipping and falling makes working on any roof dangerous but it s especially so if the roof rises more than 4 feet for every 12 feet of horizontal span.