Features Of A Proper Commercial Roof Walkway
Adding a walkway to the flat roof of your commercial building makes sense for a lot of reasons, and your local commercial roofing specialist can talk to you about past walkway installations and help to decide how you'll proceed. Although your customers will likely never see your roof walkway or even know that it exists, you and your staff — as well as various contractors who are working for you — may use it from time to time and appreciate it being there. Here are some essential features for a safe and useful walkway on your commercial building's roof.
Textured Surface
The most obvious safety concern for anyone being on your roof is that he or she will fall off. It's generally a good idea to keep the walkway away from the edge of the roof, but you shouldn't automatically assume that this will prevent someone from taking a tumble and falling toward the roof's edge. You'll dramatically improve the safety of the walkway by ensuring that it's made of something with a textured surface. Rubber matting, for example, can be a good material because it has a bumpy, grippy texture that will allow people to walk with confidence.
Handrails
You may also want to install handrails around some or all of your roof walkway. Your roofing contractor will know the building code for your area and can let you know whether handrails are mandatory. Even if they aren't, they're a good tool for keeping people safe. For example, if a contractor were walking across your roof when a gust of wind hit the area, he or she could grab one of the handrails for stability. Solid handrails can also catch someone's body in the event that he or she begins to take a tumble while walking on the walkway.
Thought-Out Path
Give some careful thought to how you plan to use the walkway on your commercial building's roof, and then plan out the path of the walkway accordingly. Don't just have it run down the length of the building's roof, as people may need to deviate from it for different jobs. For example, if there's a sign at one end of the roof that your staff members will be changing occasionally, the walkway should run to and from this sign. It should also run to and from any other elements on the roof that people may be using at various times.
For more information on your roofing options, contact a company like WNC Roofing.
