marty
1 MW
Putting a standing seam metal roof on a house. Metal panels are attached with screws to horizontal 2x4s called purlins. Purlins are every 2 feet and easy to climb on.
Roof is too steep to walk on. Slope is 10 inches down for every 12 inches across. Roofers say 10/12 pitch.
Metal roof panels are 16 inches wide and 17 feet long. They look like this:
Metal roof panels have been installed on both sides of the roof. They are like a sliding board. Not fun type of sliding board. Slide off and die. Now I got to install the ridge cap. Ridge cap is made from steel sheet metal same color as the roof. Ridge cap pieces are 12 foot long. They look like this:
I got a chicken foot attachment that goes on a ladder. Also called ladder hook. Looks like this:
From the bottom edge of the roof you roll it up then flip it over. Here is a picture:
Problem is that this chicken foot ladder lays flat on the roof. There is no room to get the ridge cap underneath it. I have never done this before. Talked to other metal roof guys. They all say. "Rent a lift." Lift looks like this.
Problem is that I am slow. Not slow as in retarded. Slow as in it takes me a long time to install a metal roof. Too much time spent thinking, drawing, typing? I am guessing that renting a lift like the one in that picture costs about $200 a day. If I need it for a year, think I would own it. Would be a nice tool to have.
Here is my plan. Marty's custom Chicken Foot Ladders. Please see picture:
View attachment 5
Now go fire up your big computers and please download 2 drawings in PDF format. Page size is 17x11. Think you should be able to view with Adobe Reader no problem.
View attachment ladder.02.pdf
View attachment ladder.02x3.pdf
The 1-1/2 inch material is 2 layers of 3/4 inch plywood. I am also thinking of 1/2 aluminum? Think aluminum would cost way more? Question is will this work. Will it break and cause me to fall and die? Just joking :lol: As long as I don't land on my head, think I will survive.
In second PDF file you see 3 chicken foot ladders. There is a 16 foot 2x6 spanning the 3 chicken foot ladders. 2x6 will be held on with roof brackets. See ladder.02x3.pdf
I got one of the worlds largest collections of roof brackets. they look like this:
View attachment 8
Roof brackets are normally nailed to the roof. Nails go under the tab of the shingle. If you don't hit a rafter, I don't climb on them. Roof brackets on a shingle roof look like this.
View attachment 7
Not sure how to hang roof brackets from the rungs of the ladders? Thinking I will go to the metal fabrication guy and have him bend some sheet steel to a U shape.
Chicken Foot Ladder Construction Plan
Nothing done yet. Only drawings on paper.
Buy 6 - 8' Type IA Fiberglass D-Rung Straight Ladders. $100 each at local place. 6 ladders will make 3 two sided custom chicken foots. Ladders look like this:
At the bottom of each ladder is a shoe. Shoe is attached with a bolt. Shoe looks like this:
Planing to take the shoes off. Grind the heads off the rivets that hold the aluminum shoe bracket to the fiberglass rail. Cut the 8 foot ladders down to 6 foot and attach the aluminum shoe bracket to the top of the ladder. Now I have a nice heavy duty bolt pivot hole at the top of the ladder. Ladders pivot where they attach to my custom made Cs. Reason I want to flip the ladders upside down is because the rungs are D shaped. Users foot goes on the flat side of the D.
Buy two sheets of good quality 3/4 inch plywood. Exterior plywood with lots of layers and no voids. See 3/4"x4x8 MARINE AB PLYWOOD here http://www.lencobuffalo.com/ got to go look at it. Apply contact cement to one side of each sheet. Stick the two sheets together. Marty's special method of pressing the sheets tight together...... Lay them on flat on the ground. Ground as in concrete. Drive back and forth with a car or truck to press them together. Cut Cs out with a jig saw.
Anyone have any other ideas to get to the peak of a metal roof? Electric magnets attached to the bottom of my shoes? Tie a rope to a cloud?
Will my custom chicken foot contraptions work? Will the Cs twist? Will 1-1/2 inch plywood be strong enough? Any better, safer ideas? Where is Safe when you need him?
Roof is too steep to walk on. Slope is 10 inches down for every 12 inches across. Roofers say 10/12 pitch.
Metal roof panels are 16 inches wide and 17 feet long. They look like this:
Metal roof panels have been installed on both sides of the roof. They are like a sliding board. Not fun type of sliding board. Slide off and die. Now I got to install the ridge cap. Ridge cap is made from steel sheet metal same color as the roof. Ridge cap pieces are 12 foot long. They look like this:
I got a chicken foot attachment that goes on a ladder. Also called ladder hook. Looks like this:
From the bottom edge of the roof you roll it up then flip it over. Here is a picture:
Problem is that this chicken foot ladder lays flat on the roof. There is no room to get the ridge cap underneath it. I have never done this before. Talked to other metal roof guys. They all say. "Rent a lift." Lift looks like this.
Problem is that I am slow. Not slow as in retarded. Slow as in it takes me a long time to install a metal roof. Too much time spent thinking, drawing, typing? I am guessing that renting a lift like the one in that picture costs about $200 a day. If I need it for a year, think I would own it. Would be a nice tool to have.
Here is my plan. Marty's custom Chicken Foot Ladders. Please see picture:
View attachment 5
Now go fire up your big computers and please download 2 drawings in PDF format. Page size is 17x11. Think you should be able to view with Adobe Reader no problem.
View attachment ladder.02.pdf
View attachment ladder.02x3.pdf
The 1-1/2 inch material is 2 layers of 3/4 inch plywood. I am also thinking of 1/2 aluminum? Think aluminum would cost way more? Question is will this work. Will it break and cause me to fall and die? Just joking :lol: As long as I don't land on my head, think I will survive.
In second PDF file you see 3 chicken foot ladders. There is a 16 foot 2x6 spanning the 3 chicken foot ladders. 2x6 will be held on with roof brackets. See ladder.02x3.pdf
I got one of the worlds largest collections of roof brackets. they look like this:
View attachment 8
Roof brackets are normally nailed to the roof. Nails go under the tab of the shingle. If you don't hit a rafter, I don't climb on them. Roof brackets on a shingle roof look like this.
View attachment 7
Not sure how to hang roof brackets from the rungs of the ladders? Thinking I will go to the metal fabrication guy and have him bend some sheet steel to a U shape.
Chicken Foot Ladder Construction Plan
Nothing done yet. Only drawings on paper.
Buy 6 - 8' Type IA Fiberglass D-Rung Straight Ladders. $100 each at local place. 6 ladders will make 3 two sided custom chicken foots. Ladders look like this:
At the bottom of each ladder is a shoe. Shoe is attached with a bolt. Shoe looks like this:
Planing to take the shoes off. Grind the heads off the rivets that hold the aluminum shoe bracket to the fiberglass rail. Cut the 8 foot ladders down to 6 foot and attach the aluminum shoe bracket to the top of the ladder. Now I have a nice heavy duty bolt pivot hole at the top of the ladder. Ladders pivot where they attach to my custom made Cs. Reason I want to flip the ladders upside down is because the rungs are D shaped. Users foot goes on the flat side of the D.
Buy two sheets of good quality 3/4 inch plywood. Exterior plywood with lots of layers and no voids. See 3/4"x4x8 MARINE AB PLYWOOD here http://www.lencobuffalo.com/ got to go look at it. Apply contact cement to one side of each sheet. Stick the two sheets together. Marty's special method of pressing the sheets tight together...... Lay them on flat on the ground. Ground as in concrete. Drive back and forth with a car or truck to press them together. Cut Cs out with a jig saw.
Anyone have any other ideas to get to the peak of a metal roof? Electric magnets attached to the bottom of my shoes? Tie a rope to a cloud?
Will my custom chicken foot contraptions work? Will the Cs twist? Will 1-1/2 inch plywood be strong enough? Any better, safer ideas? Where is Safe when you need him?