# Reroofing my house - Pitfalls and pratfalls **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523 "2013-10-29T02:57:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/1 "2013-10-29T02:57:27Z")
My BIL and I have been planning to reroof my house for months. We were taking the old tin off and putting new metal on. There were some leaky spots on the low flat part - the plan was to put down new decking on that part, replace some fascia before the metal is delivered. Today, 30 minutes onto it, he missed his footing on the ladder, fell 10’ and broke his leg. ☹ He broke the femur at the head where it goes into the socket. Orthopedic surgery tomorrow. StG ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/2 "2013-10-29T03:03:59Z")
First rule of roofing. Never step back to admire your work. Hope it heals quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/3 "2013-10-29T03:10:23Z")
Second rule of roofing…Hire it done! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/4 "2013-10-29T03:13:16Z")
That sucks. Hope everything heals up nicely. I fell off my garage roof multiple times while building it. With a 7/12 pitch it was tough to maintain traction. The worst was the first truss I set in place. I had it anchored to the ground but it pulled loose and it went over with me holding on. I had the foresight to put up the garage door ahead of time and landed on that so all I hurt was my pride. I installed all the trusses by hand from the ground without any lifting devices and it was a learning experience. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/5 "2013-10-29T03:15:36Z")
Just remembered falling off the ladder on that project too. Landed on my pouch of nails. REALLY glad I used a leather pouch. Not a scratch. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/6 "2013-10-29T03:26:10Z")
**Magiver** - The [pitchy parts of my roof are very steep](http://s79.photobucket.com/user/StG61/media/NorthHouse.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4). He was on the flat portion that was added on in the back. Yesterday he was clambering all over those peaks while we were getting measurements. Nary a slip. StG ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/7 "2013-10-29T03:47:45Z")
So, StGermain, are you going to carry on alone, wait for him to heal or find someone else to help? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/8 "2013-10-29T03:50:17Z")
I’m going to wait until Spring. Hopefully I can also hired my part-time handyman to help. My BIL is 58 and I’m 52. If I want to break a bone I’ll get back on my thoroughbred who hasn’t been ridden in a few years. StG ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/9 "2013-10-29T04:21:18Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I’m going to wait until Spring. Hopefully I can also hired my part-time handyman to help. My BIL is 58 and I’m 52. If I want to break a bone I’ll get back on my thoroughbred who hasn’t been ridden in a few years. > > StG Glad you’re keeping it metal. yeash, 58. Ow. Under the official guy rules you owe him a beer. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/10 "2013-10-30T03:43:04Z")
My BIL spent about 6 hours in surgery today. We don’t know exactly what was done - the doctor left before talking to the family. He’s on a morphine pump and an epidural pump. StG ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/11 "2013-10-30T04:38:58Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > My BIL spent about 6 hours in surgery today. We don’t know exactly what was done - the doctor left before talking to the family. He’s on a morphine pump and an epidural pump. > > StG Wow. hope things turn out OK. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/12 "2013-10-30T11:22:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Glad you’re keeping it metal. yeash, 58. Ow. Under the official guy rules you owe him a beer. Under the official guy rules with 6 hours of surgery you owe him the whole 6 pack. Wait till he is off the drugs first. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/13 "2013-10-30T14:14:30Z")
StGermain hope your BIL recovers ok. It sounds like a bad break. I did roofing work and general construction in college. I roofed my house 12 years ago. I’ve already decided to hire someone the next time. I don’t want to be up there 10 years from now. Too hard on my back and threads like this are a reminder that it’s just too dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/14 "2013-10-30T14:47:10Z")
When it comes to difficult or dangerous jobs, I compare the amount of money I think I will save against the cost of my health insurance deductible and lost work wages plus factor in the potential for a bad injury. The older I get, the more often I hire professionals to do such jobs. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/15 "2013-10-30T20:29:34Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > When it comes to difficult or dangerous jobs, I compare the amount of money I think I will save against the cost of my health insurance deductible and lost work wages plus factor in the potential for a bad injury. Statistically it is probably much more likely that you will get injured in everyday situations–from driving to work to tripping over your kid’s toy or your dog to burning yourself while cooking. In these dangerous jobs you are much more cautious, while in everyday situations you often don’t pay much attention. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reroofing-my-house-pitfalls-and-pratfalls/672523/16 "2013-10-31T03:11:16Z")
**BIL Update** - Well, it was basically a broken hip. The surgeon came by today (and said, “the resident didn’t stop to talk to you? That’s not good!”) and said it was a very serious surgery. Instead of opting for a hip replacement, the reattached the ball of the femur with rods and screws, but there’s a danger the bone will die, in which case they’ll have to go back in and do the hip replacement. He’s not up yet, but they’re trying to get him on crutches. He’s going to be at least 3 months on crutches. He’s still in a great deal of pain. He actually fell coming down the latter on the flat part of roof. He didn’t get his foot on the rung and went down about 10’. We both agreed that this was the one part of the roof that we weren’t worried about. The pitchy part shouldn’t be all that hard, because instead of decking under the tin, there are slats that attach to the rafters,[If you look at the attached guide, it’s the first box on page 6](http://www.bestbuymetals.com/pdf/tuff-rib-installation-guide.pdf). It’s like having a ladder all the way around. I’m worried about getting it done. There’s been enough of a patch I think to get me through the winter, but I might call for a few quotes. The quote for the metal came in a little less than I expected, so I might be able to swing a pro for the installation. StG