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Subchapter 4. Construction Safety Orders and Equipment
Article 30. Roofing Operations and Equipment

§1731. Residential-type Roofing Activities.

(a) Scope and Application.

This section shall apply only to residential-type roofing activities.

(b) Definitions.

Residential-type roofing activities. Roofing work consists of roofing and re-roofing work, including roof removal performed on single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes and other structures covered by Section 1716.2. Roofing work also includes loading and installation of roofing materials, including related insulation, sheet metal that is integral to the roofing system, and vapor barrier work, but does not include the construction of the roof deck.

Roof. The exterior surface on the top of a building. This does not include floors or formwork which, because a building has not been completed, temporarily become the top surface of a building.

Roof slope. For the purposes of this section, the incline angle of a roof surface, given as a ratio of the vertical rise to the horizontal run. For example, a 4:12 roof has 4 feet of vertical rise for 12 feet of horizontal run.

(1) Roof slopes 0:12 up to and including 7:12. Employees shall be protected from falling when on a roof surface where the employee fall distance is 6 feet or more above the grade or level below by use of one or more of the following methods: personal fall protection systems, scaffolding, safety nets, guardrails, or, provided the employer demonstrates that the use of conventional fall protection methods are infeasible, a fall protection plan with safety monitors and controlled access zones as described in Sections 1671.1 and 1671.2.

(2) Roof slopes greater than 7:12. Employees shall be protected from falling by methods prescribed in Subsection (c)(1) regardless of height.

(d) Training.

(1) In addition to training required by Sections 1509 and 3203, each affected employee shall be trained to ensure specific awareness of the fall hazards associated with roofing work, including, but not limited to:

(A) Work on or near gable ends,

(B) Slipping hazards,

(D) Skylights,

(E) Work on ladders and scaffolds,

(F) Access to roof,

(G) Placement and location of materials on the roof,

(H) Impalement hazards, and

(I) Care and use of fall protection systems.

(2) Documentation of employee training shall be maintained as required by Section 3203 of the General Industry Safety Orders.

(e) For the purposes of this section, the employee's fall height measurement shall be determined by measuring the vertical distance from the employee's walking/working surface to the ground or level below. The height of parapets shall not be included in the roof height measurement.

Credits

Note: Authority cited: Section 142.3, Labor Code. Reference: Section 142.3, Labor Code.

History

1. New section filed 3-2-2007; operative 4-1-2007 (Register 2007, No. 9).

2. Amendment of section heading and section filed 11-26-2024; operative 7-1-2025 (Register 2024, No. 48).

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