Causing Problems by Walking on Your Roof

Most people think that getting up and walking around on their roof is no big deal. And they can be right: walking around your roof one time isn’t a problem. You will most likely get off the roof without having damaged anything. However, excessive foot traffic, walking on your roof too much, can lead to major problems on your roof. The unnecessary wear and tear caused by too much traffic on your roof can cause it to leak, sag, rip, and completely fail prematurely. As much as you can, you should avoid walking on your roof to ensure you don’t cause unnecessary problems. Let’s look at some cases where walking on your roof is required. Other than these types of situations, you should stay on the ground.

We recommend that every facility manager gets on their roof at least twice a year to make sure that everything is in good shape. Unless you have a powerful drone and are a skilled pilot, you cannot perform an effective roof inspection without walking on your roof. So, at least twice a year you’ll need to walk on your roof, and that shouldn’t be a problem.

During your inspection, after a large storm, or after the installation of new equipment, you may have to make some repairs to your roof. You can’t make repairs without walking on your roof, so this is another 1-2x a year where you should expect to walk on your roof.

Are you replacing your AC unit, installing skylights, replacing gutters, or installing some other form of new equipment on your roof? You’ll have to get up on your roof to complete the install. This is the most dangerous of the three types of acceptable foot traffic because it means you’re carrying extra tools, large equipment, and anything else you may need for the installation. Dropping these items or dragging them, even for a moment, can be detrimental to your roof. You’ll want to exercise a lot of caution while performing these tasks. This shouldn’t happen much more than 1 time per year.

There are always exceptions to every rule, and there will certainly be more times where you might need to walk on your roof other than these three cases. However, based only on these three examples, you should be walking on your roof only 5 times a year. Outside of that, we recommend you avoid walking on your roof to avoid damaging it due to excessive foot traffic.