Using Stratocell foam to walk on roof tiles

[SenileGit]

Hi, I've seen there is a product called 'RoofSmart Pads' which is a plastic board with foam attached underneath, which you put on a roof so you can walk on the tiles without any risk of breaking them, and it also gives you a much safer surface to walk on. I am in the U.K. and I can't get these pads here (and they are very, very expensive anyway) - has anybody tried using Stratocell foam (it's often used in packaging new items, it's like polystyrene except it doesn't crumble into little bits and doesn't 'crack') and just laying that on a roof? I was thinking of buying some 2" thick Stratocell, maybe 2 by 4 feet in size, three or four of them, so that I can walk around my roof without having to worry about breaking a tile.

 

[datarebal]

Lay some on the ground to soften your fall

 

[bernardgreen]

 

[RandomGrinch]

Hi,

I have seen those products come up in my YouTube feed.
It is interesting, but I think (and I may be wrong!) it's a product that couldn't be supplied over here.
Apart from the US having traditionally shallower pitch roofs and asphalt shingles, the UK HSE requirements for working at height, mean only the very simplest of jobs can be worked off of a ladder.
If nearly every professional job now requires scaffolding, is a retailer going to supply something this simple to a DIY'er to climb on (and fall of of! ) their roof?

 

[SenileGit]

I don't think this has anything to do with scaffolding or ladders, it's about what you do when you're actually on a roof. Why would you fall off a roof when you have a much larger surface area gripping the tiles when you stand on a piece of Stratocell, than you would if you were standing directly on the tiles?

Edit: I think you have all probably been watching the 'Roofsmart Pads' videos and thinking that I intend to use a ladder to climb up onto my roof. I live in a bungalow with a dormer, and there is a Velux window in the walk-in loft, so getting onto the roof, and onto the flat roof above the dormer, is easy and much safer than using a ladder (which I would never, ever attempt, and I think the Roofsmart Pads videos that show them doing this are stupid.)
I am just interested in the viability of using Stratocell once I am on the roof (I use a rope tied around the chimney stack and harness for safety, there is absolutely no way I can fall off), in order to protect the tiles from damage when I am working up there.

This RoofSmart video is just crazy at the start:

Standing on that tower's roof with no harness, no scaffold, it looks like three storeys high - absolutely mad. I am NOT attempting anything like that - I climb out of my Velux window, walk six feet onto my flat roof, and put my harness on, keeping the rope tight at all times as I move back down the roof, and if I was going to be working on the lower six - ten feet of the roof, I would use scaffold and approach it from below (and still wear my harness).

 

[cdbe]

I've often thought that something as simple as a large rubber mat would do the job:

I don't think it's a problem for professional roofers who can run around a roof, know which part of a tile will hold their weight etc but as a (17st) Diyer, I managed to crack a couple of tiles with my knee when doing my roof. I also found it quite a strain on the muscles and a distraction trying to find a comfortable working position - either sitting or kneeling. Got to be better than some diyers chucking an old mattress up there to work off!

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Anything that spreads the load will work. I've used an old tank lagging jacket top and bottom of a hook ladder when doing stuff on the leanto roof (mock slates), for the garage roof (GRP panels) fixed a couple of spare bits to some ply and again used the lagging jacket on the contact face. A Hessian bag with rockwool in it stapled to some ply will be no worse than those things on the video, not sure I'd fancy either on a steep pitch roof (current house is 30 degrees, garage is 9)

 

[noseall]

Anything that spreads the load will work.

Can't beat a bit of hessian sacking...

Roof Fun7

• noseall
• 17 Nov 2017

Roof Fun6

• noseall
• 17 Nov 2017

 

[datarebal]

You could tile right to left and not work on your new tiled sections..
Or left to right need be

 

[catlad]

I have crawling boards for this purpose. I use 9x1" rough sawn timber with off cuts of batons screwed to it for grip, on the other side I have stapled carpet underlay. Grips very well.

 

[SenileGit]

I've often thought that something as simple as a large rubber mat would do the job:

View attachment 268066

I don't think it's a problem for professional roofers who can run around a roof, know which part of a tile will hold their weight etc but as a (17st) Diyer, I managed to crack a couple of tiles with my knee when doing my roof. I also found it quite a strain on the muscles and a distraction trying to find a comfortable working position - either sitting or kneeling. Got to be better than some diyers chucking an old mattress up there to work off!

I see no reason why this would work very well. I have one of these mats in my garden, to prevent slipping on a sloped bit of lawn, and it won't spread your load much at all.
I solved the problem by buying 6" thick cushion foam from Ebay, I think it was 2 feet by 4 feet, and I cut it in half, so I have two 1 foot by 4 feet pieces. It is very good at spreading the load, but it does cause the skin on your knees to 'pull' constantly, very painful after a while. I think a better solution would be to somehow put a wooden board on top of the foam and attach it somehow, and then put some kneeling foam pads on top of the wood (the type of foam pad about 1" thick that you buy for gardening.)
Anyway, I've done my hip tile mortar repairs with the cushion foam and didn't break any tiles, so all is fine now.