Roof job - FA Rope questions

The stainless ones will be there until they bulldoze the house to make room for another strip mall. They last for decades.

I like the special picnic spot idea... except I think I'd need some 10:1 mechanical advantage rigging hardware to get the "little mrs" up there... I better grab my climbing helmet... I hear a whooshing noise that might be a frying pan heading my direction.
 
JeffGu said:
The stainless ones will be there until they bulldoze the house to make room for another strip mall. They last for decades.

I like the special picnic spot idea... except I think I'd need some 10:1 mechanical advantage rigging hardware to get the "little mrs" up there... I better grab my climbing helmet... I hear a whooshing noise that might be a frying pan heading my direction.
Click to expand...

You saying you may need a back tie on the structure?
 
Thanks, guys.

To prevent a "panic grab" on the prusik and consequent fall, I'm thinking of tying myself to the (static) rope with two prusik loops – one that I can reach when it's tight, and one that's just long enough so that when the prusik loop is tight, the prusik hitch is just out of reach. This is how I do it when I ascend to the roof ridge to clean the chimney. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks again.
 
Woodwork said:
Thanks, guys.

To prevent a "panic grab" on the prusik and consequent fall, I'm thinking of tying myself to the (static) rope with two prusik loops – one that I can reach when it's tight, and one that's just long enough so that when the prusik loop is tight, the prusik hitch is just out of reach. This is how I do it when I ascend to the roof ridge to clean the chimney. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Only danger is if you do slip off edge and haven’t got another prusik or foot ascender or two fatigued Injured to foot lock you may be stuck as you can’t reach prusik to lower yourself to ground.
 
Brocky said:
Agree the top hitch should be within reach, but also there’s the problem of trying to descend on a fixed rope with a hitch.
Click to expand...

If get stuck can wrap tail a few times around leg as a bollard and break the hitch and can take pressure off hitch to descend...
 
Brocky said:
Agree the top hitch should be within reach, but also there’s the problem of trying to descend on a fixed rope with a hitch.
Click to expand...
This is coming from you, who invented a fully functional SRT hitch? I'm going out right now to climb on the sticht hitch.
 
I kept writing it as stitcht, which looked wrong, so I just looked up the actual name, which comes from a proper german name as I found out.
 
I also have a couple of Petzl Tiblocs. Maybe I could keep a loop with carabiner and Tibloc in pocket and rig a footloop if I fell and needed to ascend rope to loosen the upper prusik?

I could use the Tiblocs instead of prusiks I guess, but I trust prusik hitches more than the Tiblocs.

Really appreciate all the advice, all. Thanks. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go along.

Jeff

ETA: Also have a cheap Chinese foot ascender, but I've never tried it. Probably a good idea to try it...if it works, I guess I could carry it (or wear it?) when working?

On the issue of descending on prusiks...I've never done this except when (climbing) back down off the sloped roof when cleaning chimney. I first lower one loop, then the other. But I see what you mean if I was hanging in mid-air when I would need to unweight each hitch to move it, and wouldn't have braking on descent. Guess I could carry a small figure 8...my fanny pack is getting heavy already!

Here's the roof (there's an existing pulley out there on the R gable end ridge just inside the rightmost lightning rod, though I've never inspected it):

58745

Question: If I used two prusik loops, both within reach, and I panic grabbed the upper one, and fell, when the upper prusik hitch hit the lower (unweighted) prusik hitch, that would slide freely, too, right? And down I would go...I'm not sure I would have the cool head to counter-instinctively release the prusik hitch to stop myself.

I need to figure out a way to do this safely, but I'm not seeing how, if both prusik loops are within reach and I panic-grab the upper one...that seems to be the Achille's Heel of this scenario...
 
Last edited:
Woodwork said:
I also have a couple of Petzl Tiblocs. Maybe I could keep a loop with carabiner and Tibloc in pocket and rig a footloop if I fell and needed to ascend rope to loosen the upper prusik?

I could use the Tiblocs instead of prusiks I guess, but I trust prusik hitches more than the Tiblocs.

Really appreciate all the advice, all. Thanks. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go along.

Jeff

ETA: Also have a cheap Chinese foot ascender, but I've never tried it. Probably a good idea to try it...if it works, I guess I could carry it (or wear it?) when working?

On the issue of descending on prusiks...I've never done this except when (climbing) back down off the sloped roof when cleaning chimney. I first lower one loop, then the other. But I see what you mean if I was hanging in mid-air when I would need to unweight each hitch to move it, and wouldn't have braking on descent. Guess I could carry a small figure 8...my fanny pack is getting heavy already!

Here's the roof (there's an existing pulley out there on the R gable end ridge just inside the rightmost lightning rod, though I've never inspected it):

View attachment 58745

Question: If I used two prusik loops, both within reach, and I panic grabbed the upper one, and fell, when the upper prusik hitch hit the lower (unweighted) prusik hitch, that would slide freely, too, right? And down I would go...I'm not sure I would have the cool head to counter-instinctively release the prusik hitch to stop myself.

I need to figure out a way to do this safely, but I'm not seeing how, if both prusik loops are within reach and I panic-grab the upper one...that seems to be the Achille's Heel of this scenario...
Click to expand...
When most people fall their instincts are to put their hands out in front of them to brace for impacts. I could see grabbing the roof or any object I'm heading towards but I don't think I'm going to grab 2 prussiks and hit the carpet...prussiks get very tight too.
 
I would suggest using a fall restraint system instead of fall arrest. Use your rope to your centre attachment point for work positioning so you cannot get into a position where you could fall off the roof.

If you do use a fall arrest system, you need a shock absorbing lanyard attached to a dorsal point on the harness. You have to be very careful with slack in this system in a residential environment because you need a larger fall height so you don’t hit the ground.
Also rescue is required quickly from this situation.

I would use just one hitch personally.
 
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Noodle said:
I would suggest using a fall restraint system instead of fall arrest. Use your rope to your centre attachment point for work positioning so you cannot get into a position where you could fall off the roof.

If you do use a fall arrest system, you need a shock absorbing lanyard attached to a dorsal point on the harness. You have to be very careful with slack in this system in a residential environment because you need a larger fall height so you don’t hit the ground.
Also rescue is required quickly from this situation.

I would use just one hitch personally.
Click to expand...

 
Thanks for all the replies, guys, I've been following along even if I don't respond to every reply.

If I did a "panic grab" on the prusik hitch in a fall, I wonder whether the friction of the rope sliding through my hand would burn me fast enough to make me release it in time not to hit the ground...
 
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