Ask Each Roofer What Stops the Crew When Lightning Is Close

A roof crew on a Chesterfield house spends the afternoon on metal ladders, with nail guns, hoists and aluminum staging, at the highest point of the lot. When a thunderstorm builds to the west in July, the crew has only a few minutes to get down, and many quotes never say who makes that call or how long the crew waits before going back up. The National Weather Service advises that if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck, and it recommends waiting 30 minutes after the last clap before going back outdoors. A roofing crew works outside by definition. The stop-work rule tells you how the job will run on the spring and summer storm days that come through the metro with little notice.

Roofer comparison

Put one question to each roofer in the same words: when a storm is close, who decides that the crew comes off the roof, and what is the trigger? The answers often sound alike until you press them. One roofer says the crew stops at the first thunder. Another says the crew stops when the foreman sees lightning in the sky. A third says the crew works unless it is raining, which leaves each worker to decide for themselves whether a distant rumble is worth the climb down. The first two rules protect the crew. The third leaves the decision to whoever is standing on the slope, and that is the answer to catch.

Then ask whether the rule is written into a site safety plan or only said at the morning meeting. A written plan can be shown to you before the work starts. A spoken rule may be followed faithfully, but you have nothing to point to if a crew member ignores it on a bad afternoon. Ask who on site holds the authority to call everyone down. On most crews that is the crew lead working on the job, and you should get a name and a phone number that reaches that person, not a general company line that rings in an office with nobody checking it.

What the open roof does during a stop

Pulling the crew off the roof is only half of the problem. Before a storm arrives, the open roof should be in a state that can take rain. That usually means underlayment fastened over the deck, unfinished areas covered or protected, and loose materials secured or moved off the slope. Wind can lift a bundle left on a pitch or peel back a sheet of underlayment that was not yet nailed down, and a summer cell can drop a large amount of rain in less than an hour. A stop-work rule that says nothing about the open deck leaves the house exposed to the same storm that sent the crew down.

Ask each roofer what happens to the materials and equipment on the roof when a stop is called. Shingle bundles, the hoist line, cut scraps and the ladders should be secured or brought down before the crew walks away. Ask, too, who puts a tarp over an exposed section and how long that takes. Some crews keep a tarp rolled at the eave for this moment. Others expect to haul one out after the rain has started. Neither approach is wrong on its face, but the proposal should name the tarp, the person who places it, and the time it should take. The Keys Roofing office at (314) 220-2333 can answer those questions for a specific house.

Why a Chesterfield job raises the question

Chesterfield lots are often wide, with two-story rooflines and tall eaves that keep a crew well above grade for most of the day. Mature trees along the drive can keep a truck from getting close, so the materials sit farther from the ladder. Those conditions make a fast descent harder. A crew that has to walk a long way across a sloped yard with a bundle on the shoulder is slower to clear the roof than one that can step off a short ladder. The stop-work plan should account for how the crew actually gets down from this house, not a generic idea of a flat lot. If the quote does not mention ladder placement, ask for it, since the descent path is part of the same question.

What it costs

A stop-work rule rarely appears as its own line on a roof quote, and it does not need to. What matters is whether the rule creates a billing question. If the crew is paid by the day, a storm stop becomes a cost that shows up as a longer job and a larger final number. If the contract is fixed price, the stop costs the roofer time, and the contract should say whether a weather delay moves the completion date. Ask each roofer whether standby time is billed, whether it is capped, and whether a stop changes the finish date in writing. A stop that is charged by the hour with no cap can turn a three-day job into a much longer one, and a fixed price with no date change can leave an open roof waiting longer than it should.

What to ask

1. What exact sign makes the crew come off the roof: the first thunder, visible lightning, or a forecast window?
2. How long after the last thunder does the crew wait before going back up, and who makes that decision?
3. Is the stop rule written into the site safety plan, and can I read it before the first day?
4. Who on site has authority to call the crew down, and what is the direct phone number for that person?
5. What stays on the roof during a stop, and who secures the bundles, hoist line and any open deck before the crew leaves?
6. Who places the tarp, how long does that take, and is it included in the price?
7. Is standby time billed, is it capped, and does a weather stop move the completion date in writing?