How to Harness up on a tile roof

I see the question come up occasionally. And until recently I thought it was a basic thing that gets covered in the safe work at heights course but after some of my crew recently did theirs, and after talking to others. It would appear not.
This how we do it on tiles. As always, safety starts and stops with YOU. This video is general advice only and you must decide if its safe and/or legal where you are.

[@JClark2600]

I climbed cell towers for about 5 years in my youth and still have all my safety equipment. Looking to clean my gutters now so thanks for the video. I wonder how many roofers out there come from telecom, it’s good pay but as you start to get older and after a fall or 2 your body just can’t keep up. Thanks for the video.

[@pageturnerproductions2084]

Going up on the roof to do a lot of work and this is a great video. I looked at the harness and strop prices and about 400AUD for the full set. I busted my shoulder from a 3 m fall and it cost out of pocket $7K AUD for surgery to fix. So all in be safe - it is cheaper in the long run to get and use the safety kit.

[@das250250]

Thanks for this the vid . At the end of the day its so damn easy you can put 2 slings around the roof Struss and double your load rating plus insurance for the integrity of the sling.

[@tedstewart7650]

I knew the system. But thanks for taking the time to explain it. Well done.

[@chrisborserio9044]

Thanks Nathan very thorough

[@tobychalmers8103]

Thanks for the video mate. Would you be able to explain in another video the actual harness set up and how you extend the rope to reach the edge of the roof. You obviously want enough length to be able to clean the gutters but not enough so if you do fall you will not be hanging over the edge! Cheers mate

[@NWCSoftwash]

Hey mate, so the length of the line can be as long as needed, most come 15m but I got a 30m one and let it dangle off the edge. You're clipped to an ascender which locks you in at any point along that 30m. Ideally, as part of best practice, you stay in "fall restraint" position whenever working on the roof. That means there's no slack in the line between the anchor point, and the ascender clipped to your harness. IF you still slip, you just fall on your bum, not off the roof. Your best to do your working at heights course, and all that sort of stuff will be covered. Even though there's some things it doesn't cover, or that won't apply to you, it's beneficial, and a legal requirement in every state AFAIK.

[@tobychalmers8103]

@@NWCSoftwash thanks heaps for the reply mate. Yeah I’m well aware of the legal requirements and I want to be as safe as possible. Just wanted to get your perspective as you stated that now they will probably not cover industry specific requirements but just a typical cookie cutter course. Thanks Nath ✌️

[@age_of_reason]

How did you remove the tile? You can't pull it out because it has a stop that's resting on the batton. Did you just push it all the way in?

[@NWCSoftwash]

@@age_of_reason you lift the one you want to remove which raises the one behind it. Then grab that one to hold it up and wiggle the lower one out. Often every 2nd row will be nailed in which can make it slightly more difficult.

[@jamesdavidson6689]

Just one point on this - The 2 ton lifting sling has an 8:1 safety factor, so the actual minimum breaking strain should be closer to 16t. Height safety / climbing equipment does not have this, so the marked rating is the actual minimum breaking strain. Point is you could use a lower rated lifting sling if you wanted.

[@NWCSoftwash]

Yeah can't rember all the figures off the top of my head. But at the time of the video there was like $2 difference between those and the lower rated ones 😄. I'm a fan of overkill 👌

[@sunilawakes9471]

We’ll done mate, great video

[@piamackintosh260]

Great video, thoroughly explained. Where do you get the sarking tape?

[@NWCSoftwash]

Spotlight...

[@alexandercarter2088]

Great video!

[@votown1003]

Thanks for the information, what about a metal roof?

[@NWCSoftwash]

Best to do your heights course and ask them, but there are temporary anchors that we carry that are very quick and easy to install.

[@PyroChannelAustralia]

Great video Nathan, I’m thinking of starting to clean gutters and do some maintenance on roofs. Would the working with heights course be compulsory or is it just highly advised. Thanks :)

[@NWCSoftwash]

You'd have to look up the rules where you are. But it's a compulsory bit of paper Auswide as far as I'm aware. It's worth doing. But it's certainly not comprehensive training.

[@markogrba1]

Is it per code to use tarp like that? Isn't that supposed to be plywood there instead?

[@NWCSoftwash]

I believe you might be thinking of shingle roofs? At any rate, on tiled roofs, in Australia at least, sarking is what's used.

[@markogrba1]

@@NWCSoftwash My house has plywood just under the tile...built relatively recently in 2005. There's a layer of foam sheets under the plywood...for thermal insulation I think. It's really hot here in the summertime. Places like California coastal areas might have similar construction like the one you showed in the video. It looks scary to me to cut that tarp like that. Plywood is easy to fix, but that tarp patch... I'm not sure that repair will hold up for more than a few years. Just doesn't feel right. I'm most likely wrong... There must be a more permanent repair. Not an expert here or even close. Just looking for videos of people walking on tile roof as I'm getting ready to put some solar panels on mine.

[@NWCSoftwash]

@@markogrba1 all good 👌. If I come across a better way, I'd happily change if feasible. But yeah never seen plywood under tile here in 20 odd years. Some of our roofs don't even have sarking 😄. As for the longevity, I've com accross patches like this from previous work that are still sealed well, but the sarkings so perished its starting to fall apart rather than cut neatly. The tape should last long enough.

[@markogrba1]

@@NWCSoftwash I've seen some videos of California homes without anything under the tile. There is also a layer of tar paper on top of plywood on my house. I guess it's more for redundancy than anything else. If one layer fails there another to back it up.

[@HOLMES-B221]

I have a two story home with a concrete tile roof in California, built in the early 80's. There is no sheathing (plywood/OSB) below the tile, nor is there any tarping or water proof paper. Battens are strung across the rafters and tiles have nubs that lock onto the battens. If you go into the attic you can see the bottom of the tile. This type of roof system is no longer allowed because it's prone to leaking. Wind driven rain can go under the tile, a cracked tile can allow water underneath and sometime tiles slide out of place. Some people have reroofed their homes by removing the tiles, adding OSB sheathing, waterproof paper or an adhesive membrane, reinstalling battens and the tiles. This is a costly endeavor.

[@wheres_bears1378]

Can you just screw an anchor into the rafter instead of cutting the darling? Seems less intrusive

[@NWCSoftwash]

Possibly. I've pulled up plenty of tiles and see previously cut sarking though... never seen just holes in a beam so maybe there's a reason not too. Also, not as 'sustainable' i guess. Like I wouldn't trust screwing into the same spot multiple times over multiple visits. But you csn untape + wrap around a beam as often as you like.