Is it safe to stand on the roof?

[aswedc]

So my friend has a house in the city that would have an awesome view for the fireworks tonight. It has a flat roof. Engineers, what is the weight tolerance for a roof? Would it be safe to put people up there? How many?

 

[SoulAssassin]

I don't think anyone can answer definitively, but I would feel comfortable saying 'probably'. How many people are you talking about?

 

[aswedc]

Well, there will be up to 20 people in the house...but I'm thinking probably no more than 5 on the roof at a time?

 

[potoba]

how old is your house?

 

[aswedc]

~40yrs

 

[adairusmc]

I don't think it would be a problem.

 

[KillerCharlie]

Don't they typically need to stand on it to put shingles on...

 

[Captante]

Only one way to find out for sure ... hope you have your homeowners insurance paid up for when somone falls off!

 

[skyking]

Man, I just got off my roof, after tearing off a ton of shingles and doing some sheeting repair.
Yeah, you can stand on your roof but it is a bad idea. No handrails or proper access, and usually some beer is involved on the 4th.
That could ruin somebody's day, or life.

Edit: a flat roof, and will you be climbing out a window?
You can have a few people up there, just string a line across about 5 feet back of the edge to keep people back. I've seen some terrible fall accidents at the workplace, would not wish that on anybody.

 

[aswedc]

ok, I guess fireworks from the roof is on then. Thanks.

 

[aswedc]

Yeah it's flat so hopefully no one is dumb enough to fall off. There is a hatch to access it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Well, I would stand on my roof anyday. While it's slanted we have the heavy composite concrete-like shingles that will kill you if they fall off and hit you. I think I can stand perfectly fine on that roof and not add too much weight.