Steep Roof Pitch Safety

The occupational safety and health administration osha in the united states of america has a different approach on sloped roofs.

Steep roof pitch safety.

Some types of stone roofs have a very restrictive roof pitch. Slater at work rothesay isle of bute. Another benefit of a steeper pitch is that you can get more uv to your roof if you ve got solar panels. Steep roof above 4 12 slope 29 cfr 1926 501 b 11.

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. A steeper pitch can also reduce the risk of ice damage in the winter. Working on roofs with pitches too steep for safety require a staging of scaffolding boards secured with roof brackets. Osha defines a steep roof as any roof with a rise run ratio over 4 12 18 43 degrees.

While there are clearly some benefits to steeper roofing it doesn t make them easier to work on. With insufficient pitch a roof can leak rain and with a pitch too great its stones will fall loose. 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.

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.