On Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:22:05 +0000 (UTC), "J.G."
wrote:

On Sun, 26 Aug 2012 08:53:01 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

If you're not sure of yourself, throw a heavy climbing rope (11mm) over
the top of the roof and down to the ground on the opposite side.
Tie it to a tree or something that will take your weight. Borrow a sit
harness (not just a belt) and tie yourself in. If you can't handle the
knots, get a rescue ascender/descender

Funny you should mention the rope.

I bought a 100' length from the local surplus store on Winchester, along
with a harness. When I bought it, I had thought the harness was a
climbing harness - but it was actually a 'safety' harness.

Doing the math. 40ft up to the eaves. My guess is about 40ft over
the roof plus 20ft to the ground and around a tree. Total is 100ft.
This is going to be close.

Also, I was wondering HOW to anchor the rope at the top - but I had not
thought about just throwing it over the house. That's a GREAT idea!

Been there, done it that way. Worked just fine. However, you're
going to destroy the tiles on the roof peak if you fall. That's fine
because they're easy to replace. Your life is worth more than the
tiles.

I'm not sure what the ascenders are for because I was planning on
climbing the ladder with the rope tied to me just in case I fell.

Easy. Pretend the cheap Made in China ladder just buckled in the
middle and you're hanging a few feet below the roof eave. You're tied
in with your hardness so you're not going to fall any further. How
are you going to get down? You can't have an assistant untie the
other end of the rope because they're unlikely to lower you safely
without belaying. If you have climbing experience and know how to
handle the ropes and hardware, lowering yourself is no problem. For
everyone else, a stop descender will be much easier.

I guess you're intimating I don't need the ladder ... and, well, it 'is'
steeply sloped so that might not be a bad idea.

You need the ladder, which should also be tied to a rope thrown over
the roof peak and tied to a tree with a separate line. It doesn't
need to be 11mm. Just enough to keep the ladder from sliding
sideways. The safety rope is just in case something goes wrong.

I can tell you've never done this before. I suggest you find someone
with experience to do the install. (Not me. I'm getting too old for
this stuff). Also, if you move the project to the roof peak, you can
climb up the other side of the house, which presumably is closer to
the ground.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558