Steel roofs, little long

Bobcatz

Member

Recently had a new steel roof installed & now I"m trying to figure how to get up to my chimney at the peak to clean it. The pitch isn"t too bad but the roof is very slippery.

I told the installer that I have to get to the chimney to clean, which I do once a month during the heating season. He installed a few snow stops for me to use but it"s not too easy.

How does everyone else do this?

I like the roof otherwise & should last longer than me.
Bobkatz
 
I can walk a steel roof with a 5/12 pitch or less when warm, dry, and with sneakers on, just fine. Otherwise I need a rope to hold on to. That is - unless the roof has exposed screw-heads you can use for traction.
 
I took an old aluminm extension ladder and had brackets made to hold it about 4" off the roof and mounted it permently. Gave me a footing as well as a hand grip. And I do have a problem with any heights of 8' or more. No longer have the chimney.
 
(quoted from post at 04:13:38 06/24/14)

How does everyone else do this?

I like the roof otherwise & should last longer than me.
Bobkatz
mvphoto8328.jpg
 
Our cabin is 5/12 pitch, exposed fasteners, and if it's dry it is not a problem with good sneakers. I have run a rope over the roof to a tree behind. If you have to go up there in the winter I would install a permanent ladder.
 
I put the loader bucket up next to the roof, then set a ladder in the loader bucket running up the roof, and crawl up the ladder.
 
Find yourself a good used aerial truck with a man bucket and use that. There are also trailer models available. Look around online for aerial bucket trucks or trailers. Will cost more than a ladder, but will be a lot safer. It will be money well spent. Don't loan it to anyone; you never know what someone else will do that they might try to hold you liable for.
 
Your going to need a roof ladder. I have learned from my steel roof. It was fine traction wise when I installed it but after a week of dust it was slicker than snot even with good shoes on. You can broom the dust off and it helps some. Don't ever try to get up there when its wet. You will be lying on the ground shortly there after.
 
One thing to think about is your age. I used to throw a ladder up to the garage. Then, run across to the house roof jump on and go to the chimney.
Now, at 66 years old I am in pretty good shape. But, nothing bends like it used to, I do not have the balance, do not have the strength I used to, etc.
No answers, just some things a lot of us will have to start thinkig about.
 
U guys are great! I knew I'd get a few ideas but I got several.
I'm planning on making my own designed ladder from pressure treated wood, using 2X2 for side rails & 1X3's for steps. How does that sound?
I'm 68 years old & cut & split all my own wood for 43 years!
Thanks!
Bobkatz
 
My roof has exposed screw-heads you can use for
traction, but they are spaced at 2' & hard to stay
on. Not as limber as I used to be either!
 
Dr asked me what I'm allergic to? I told him pain and gravity. Getting on a slippery roof you too may find out about pain and gravity.
Be safe.
George
 
Simple answer, Prevent chimney fires!

Clean once a month U won't have one!

If U ever witness one you'll never forget it!
I've been a volunteer fireman for several years & saw the damage this would cause.
Bobkatz
 
A little more toe room would be better, I used 1x4 rails. Bevel rip your treads to match your pitch makes it much more comfortable.

You're not much older than I am Bob, and see no reason to slow down anytime soon. Major change I've made over the years is to stop chasing money and do what I want.

My ladder was built so I could install that copper. On my shop roof, the stovepipe only gets cleaned yearly, very little creosote even then. Dry wood, hot fire, you know the drill.
 
I guess I should have asked "What causes a chimney to get a creosote build up within a month"? Around here people burn hardwoods, shelled corn, and wood pellets as well as propane and natural gas. Chimneys don't seem to get very dirty and rarely need cleaning more than once a year. Do different fire woods (like pine) create more creosote than hardwoods?
 
Heating with wood isn't the same as with gas, oil or pellets.

I use an automatic airtight wood stove. If I burn it hot all the time there wouldn't be a problem, but I simmer it down overnight & that causes creosote build up.

I use all hardwood that has been cut, split & stored in my woodshed at least 2 years. I try to let it go down to coals over night most of the time.

I could go maybe 2 months before cleaning but never had a problem this way.

I have witnessed too many who either don't clean their chimney regularly or never clean it!
 
I wrap duct tape around the toe end of my shoes, but backwards. In other words the sticky side of the duct tape toward the outside. Like with most things, I come up with some kind of poor boy solutions, or maybe I am just a little redneck.
 
I use these little tubes of stuff that makes creosote turn into a flaky surface that falls to the bottom of the stack.. I've used several different kinds of creosote converter and it actually works.. I use an old Riteway #37 wood/coal stove.. I choke it down at night for a long burn and have not had any problems with creosote build-up.. I run a brush down the stack in the spring and have not had any appreciable build-up.. Occasionally I'll pull the stovepipe out of the thimble and look up in the stack with a good flashlight and a mirror just to make sure of it's condition.. BUT.....I burn DRY wood....Not off a pile outside the door.. There's 3 cords inside out of the weather ready to burn..
 
I like this one! Leave it to the rednecks, to come up with a simple easy solution. As long as it's dry should work good.
Bobkatz
 
Hi bobcatz;

I'm also 68 and have done the equivalent of splitting my own firewood for about that long (for instance, yesterday a friend and I mixed and poured concrete all day, then I had to go to the materials supplier to get another 1/2 yard of gravel for today's pour, which I unloaded with a shovel before I could go home). I look like I'm in good shape, but the work has taken its toll. I toss and turn all night from shoulder and hip pain unless I take so much ibuprofen that it makes my ears ring (literally). If I had it to do again, I'd do something else.

Stan
 
bobcatz:

First, sprinkle table salt on your firewood (in the stove), the salt vaporizes in the fire & the vapors dissolve any creosote that might be formed and allows it to run back down the pipe where it gets burned in the firebox.

Second, you state that you are a Volunteer Firefighter, so look at your departments "Roof Ladders" and how they hang from the peak of a roof, then either purchase a Roof Ladder or modify an extension ladder to serve your purpose.

Doc
Volunteer Firefighter (over 50 years in the Fire Service)
 

I have a steel roof and need to clean the chimney as I heat sith wood. Use a rope or ladder if the roof is real steep. I put in a bunch of extra screws to make a path from where I climb up to the chimney. Use rbber sole shoes or sneakers and I have found it is less slippery after a rain cleans any dust etc off but always wait till dry.
 

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