Keep Children Out of the Drop Zone on Roof Day

On the morning a roof comes off, the yard around the house turns into a work area with a lot of things in it. Old shingles, nails, torn felt, flashing and plywood scraps come down from the eave in the first hour, and a dumpster sits in the drive with its door open for the next load. A grown adult who has walked past a roof job knows to stay back. A child who is home from school, or who lives two doors down and cuts through the side yard, does not read the same signs. This page covers what to settle with the roofer before the first shingle comes off so that children stay out of the drop zone for the whole job, including the days when the crew is not on the roof at all.

Where the drop zone actually reaches

The drop zone is the strip of ground under the eaves and along each side wall where tear-off debris lands. On a single story house it can reach several feet past the wall. On a two story house with a steep pitch it reaches farther, because pieces slide down the slope before they drop. Debris also comes off the rake edges, and a loose piece of ridge cap can skip across the ground when it lands. Before the crew arrives, ask the roofer to walk the perimeter with you and mark the outer edge with flags or spray paint. The line should run along the side gate, past the basement window well and across any spot where a child might stand to watch the work.

A marked line helps only if everyone can see it. On a small lot the drop zone can cross the property line into a neighbor's yard, a side path or a driveway apron. Measure the gap between your house and the side fence before the crew comes. If the gap is narrow, the drop zone reaches the neighbor's ground, and the neighbor should hear about the work from you before the first morning rather than from the noise.

Why children are the risk nobody plans for

A roofing crew is trained to work around a loaded dumpster, an extension ladder and a magnet sweep. A child sees the ladder as something to climb, the magnet sweep as a game and an open truck bed as a place to sit. Nails do not stay where they land. They go into the grass, under leaves and into the edge of a flower bed, and they show up later when a bicycle tire or a bare foot finds them. For that reason the question to ask is not only whether the crew cleans up at the end of the day, but whether the cleanup covers the strip where children actually play, the sidewalk and the parkway by the curb.

Tell the roofer where the children in the house or on the block tend to be. A backyard trampoline, a sandbox under a window or a bike path along the side yard all change the plan. The crew can route the dumpster and the ladder away from those spots, but only if it knows they are there.

The places children get in on a roof job

• The ladder, which should stay on the house side of the work and should not be left standing when no one is on the roof
• The dumpster, especially when the door is open, the bin is half full and a child can reach the edge
• The truck and the stacked shingle bundles in the drive, which look like steps and seats
• The side gate and the back yard, which can be reached from the alley or the next lot if the gate is left open
• The sidewalk and the curb, where debris and chalk lines from the crew end up

What the written plan should say

A verbal promise to keep the yard clean is not a plan. A written plan can be short, but it should answer the following questions in plain words, and it should be on paper or in an email before the crew is scheduled.

1. Where the drop zone line runs, with a diagram or a dated photo showing the flags or paint marks.
2. Where the ladder is placed each morning, whether it is secured at the top, and when it is taken down or moved away from the house at the end of each day.
3. Where the dumpster sits and whether the door stays closed when no one is loading it.
4. When the magnet sweep runs, who runs it and whether it covers the drive, the sidewalk, the parkway and the back yard.
5. Who the homeowner's contact on the crew is each day, and who to call at the office if something is left out.

The fence, the gate and the back yard on roof day

Many St. Charles lots have a wood fence close to the side of the house. Gates on those fences often do not latch well, and a gate left open during a delivery or a dumpster swap gives a child a way into the work area without anyone noticing. Before the crew arrives, close each gate and check that the latch catches. If the crew needs the back yard for materials or for a ladder, the gate should be propped only while the crew is inside it and closed afterward, and the homeowner should know the gate is in use that day.

On a multi-day job the drop zone should be walked again each morning before the first load of shingles goes up, and again each evening before the crew leaves. A line that was clear on Monday can be crossed by Tuesday when the dumpster moves or a delivery is parked in a new spot. The homeowner does not need to do the walk alone, but it helps to ask the crew lead to walk it with you at the start and end of the work.

Talking to the family before the crew arrives

The children need the rule as much as the flags do. Show them the line on the ground and explain that the area past it belongs to the crew. Say plainly what the sound of the roof means and why a piece of shingle or a nail found in the grass is for an adult to pick up with a magnet or a shovel. Tell them that no one goes past the flags to fetch a ball or a toy that landed in the work area, and that an adult asks the crew to get it back.

Older children are more likely to test the line than young ones. A teenager who wants to watch the tear-off from the side yard, or who wants to climb the ladder for a better view, needs to hear the same rule and needs a reason the rule matters. The easiest reason is that falling material does not look like it is falling until it lands.

Town roofing in St. Charles

Much of the housing in St. Charles and the older neighborhoods around it sits on lots where the side yard is narrow and the fence is close to the wall. That layout puts the drop zone closer to neighbors, to walkways and to the places children use to cut between houses. A two car drive in front can also leave little room to stage a dumpster and the stacked bundles at once. Before the crew arrives, look at the lot as the crew will see it: where the bundles will sit, where the dumpster will sit, and where a child would walk if the crew were not there. If those three places overlap, ask the roofer how the crew will separate them.

What it costs

Temporary fencing, a flagger on the sidewalk and a second cleanup pass over the yard are sometimes part of a roof bid and sometimes listed as extras. Neither outcome is a sign of a bad bid. The difference is whether the bid has thought about the yard at all. Ask each bidder whether drop zone protection is included in the total or billed separately, and ask what the extra would be for a fence or a flagger if the family needs one. Put the same questions to every bidder so the totals are measured against the same yard.

What to ask

• Will you walk the drop zone with me and mark the outer edge before the first morning?
• Where does the ladder sit each day, and is it taken down or moved away from the house when the crew leaves?
• Is the dumpster door kept closed when no one is loading it?
• Who runs the magnet sweep, when does it run, and does it cover the drive, the sidewalk, the parkway and the back yard?
• Is temporary fencing or a flagger included in the total, or listed as an extra?
• Who is my contact on the crew each day, and who at the office do I call if something is left out?

Ask Keys Roofing or any other bidder to put the answers in writing before the crew is scheduled. Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333.