Ideas for lifting heavy materials onto roof

Anyone have suggestions for lifting heavy material onto the roof? I'm rebuilding the adobe parapet on my flat earthen roof and would like to avoid carrying the materials up a ladder. Each adobe brick or bucket of mortar is about 40 lbs. I plan to make this "Simple Ladder Lift" over the next few days unless someone has a better DIY approach. Looking forward to hearing your ideas and experiences.

That ladder lift looks good, but you might want to form it to bucketform.

This guy added braces on the back to keep it perpindicular to the ladder so the shingles wouldn't slide off.

You might want to put braces.stops on top of the sliding platform to keep the bucket from ROLLING and also use wedges to keep it parallel with earth.

Figure out the angle of the ladder. Generally 1:4 is safe. For every four feet tall the ladder is you want it out 1 foot.

https://laddereview.com/what-is-the-ladder-safety-4-to-1-rule/#:~:text=ladder%20safety%204%20to%201%20rule%20The%20ladder,wall%20against%20which%20you%20have%20set%20the%20ladder.

So 1:4 wedges could make your bucket platform flat.

Then fit it so you block the bucket on the sides and the outer side....


With sides.....

I wish I could draw it.

But basically you could make the shingle lift, but put a flat top on it with sides.

So the bucket stays upright parallel to earth/roof, and can't roll off the side or out..

Simon, THANK YOU, great idea! Clearly, the bucket would be awkward at 45 degrees; I'll modify the sled per your instructions. 1:4 wedges is helpful too; I appreciate your help!

The video looks good. I do have concerns about the potential for the bottom of the ladder to kick out as the load reaches the top. For safety reasons, I would secure the bottom of the ladder.

John F Dean wrote:The video looks good. I do have concerns about the potential for the bottom of the ladder to kick out as the load reaches the top. For safety reasons, I would secure the bottom of the ladder.

Great point. A ladder that better matched the height of the building would be good, too.

In a perfect world the ladder would also be secured at the top to prevent it going sideways when you accidentally knock it with a 40lb bucket..

When I try to figure out how to do something, I like to think about how the world would have done this before modern times.

In fact, I kinda think I saw a "Homestead Rescue" show about something similar.  Something that could not be carried up on a ladder.

What comes to mind is that a system of ropes and pullies was used.

Absolutely Anne! In my mind's eye, not long ago, I see a whole bunch of kids running up and down ladders carrying adobe bricks, bags of dirt for mortar, and buckets of water. After a long day, all that labor was rewarded by a huge feast to celebrate the roof repair. Such a memorable day: really fun and efficient!
Regretfully, I need to automate this job.

Block and tackle on a sliding pipe gantry.

Hubby made a block and tackle system designed to sit on top of a stack of scaffolding and he used it to pull up 20 sections of well pipe and the pump. I'm not sure it would be either cheaper or faster than the ladder system shown, however it was very safe and secure.

I'll second the need to tie-off or somehow brace the bottom and top of the ladder.

Well, in my younger days I would carry 80 pounds of shingles on my right shoulder, climb to the top of the ladder one-handed and shot put style launch the load to a guy receiving the load on the top of the roof.  It was important to heave the load with such force that it pushed the receiver back as he was standing on the edge of a sloped surface.

This was exhausting and only took place in the absolute worst heat of the summer.  It likely contributed to some of my back problems.  So my suggestion is try something else.

I do like the ladder lift system, but as John points out, I would be worried about the bottom slipping out.  Could you drive some stakes in to help secure the bottom?

If you wanted to spend the money and really save your back, you could rent a truck with a lift bed that would lift the whole load up to roof level.  Alternatively, you could rent a telehandler to do the same.  A telehandler is a sort of low tractor with an extendable boom that lifts a platform up to roof level and higher.  Rent one for a day and you could get everything loaded quickly without major back injury.

Just a few thoughts,

Eric

What did you end up building, Amy?
Pictures and instructions are always welcome!

For anyone who is reading this later to learn, I was on a big job I had to get buckets of grout up three stories of steep ladders and over a parapet. I decided I didn't have any need to do full buckets at over 50 pounds each. I did double the trips, at half the weight, and could keep up with the guys I was working with that way.

My first question is always "Do you HAVE to move that much at one time?" To me it's easier to cut the work by changing the basic problem if possible. I'm good at that.

When I did my roof, I had to get whole sheets of plywood up there, I built a long shallow angled ladder type ramp system that was 3 foot wide, they slid right up easily. I prefer to make a good system to do heavy stuff, it's less work in the long run. And MUCH less body damage.

Thank you all for your timeless tips that are useful to me and others.
What actually happened with this particular parapet repair job is kind of interesting. A windstorm blew the neighbor’s barn roof into the adobe building and caused minor damage. My kind neighbor hired a builder to make a new barn with a secure roof and repair the damage to my building. As a sweet bonus, the builder carried all the adobe bricks and mud to the roof and taught me how to upgrade the naturally weathering parapet. The basic repair is finished and I plan to finish the plastering in the coming weeks when the weather cools.
In the end, I didn’t need to make the electric lift. My friendship with the neighbor has grown and we are sharing our garden harvests. Remembering the ups and downs and ups of this season makes me smile.

Pearl Sutton wrote:

My first question is always "Do you HAVE to move that much at one time?" To me it's easier to cut the work by changing the basic problem if possible. I'm good at that.  

This is the first question for me as well. I always have to lift all materials, because no road reaches my house. I have a steep and narrow trail, 20 minutes walk.
People here used to lift materials with mules, I will probably do the same when the real lifting begins.

Working on the roof is easier with scaffolding and pulleys. Or a partially underground house :)

I'm not sure what you mean by matching the ladder height with the building, but from years of pressure washing roofs, fire department work and handyman work, I insist my ladder extend about three feet or so above the roof to provide the equivalent of hand railing, and to make it easy to find your place on the ladder when going down.

D Nikolls wrote:

John F Dean wrote:The video looks good. I do have concerns about the potential for the bottom of the ladder to kick out as the load reaches the top. For safety reasons, I would secure the bottom of the ladder.

Great point. A ladder that better matched the height of the building would be good, too.

In a perfect world the ladder would also be secured at the top to prevent it going sideways when you accidentally knock it with a 40lb bucket..

Simple, often, is good. I have some heavy equipment, like a couple bandsaws, a cabinet saw, an over-arm pin router, a jointer and so on. I'm, also, not a kid anymore.

I've moved the above mentioned things by myself and it wasn't too bad.  I used wood blocks on the ground. Before they went there, they MAY be on the tail gate of my truck or step van for easy access for positioning them on the ground.

I use a hand truck with the item strapped to it to get it to point B.

Once at the truck, van or trailer. I position, for example, my cabinet saw about one foot back from where it will be loaded.

On the ground, I have a 4x4 or 6x6 situated just in front of the saw.

I tip the saw back to its comfortable balance point, the use my toe to push the 4x or 6x under the side nearest the rig it's being loaded into.

I have a matching 4x or 6x on the ground at the back of the saw,

I tip the saw forward, onto the 4x or 6x, then use my toe to move it under the saw too.

If need be, I repeat the process with a 2x or 4x.

Just getting the 300 pound saw up several inches makes a night and day difference between easily tipping the saw into the rig or not.

To make matters easier, I have a movers piece of Teflon about 36" wide by about 48" tall to lay items on, to make it easy to slide them without scratching them.  A blanket would do fine too.

Love this post in its entirety! Suggestion from the peanut gallery... would a piece of vinyl siding( scrap or other ), attached to the sled make it slide with less friction, just wondering... and when it wears out, easily replaceable..

Safety Hoist is a company that makes a commercial version of this exact ladder lift. They're designed for the roofing industry but we use them for moving ice cores. The issue with a DIY lift is the transition on an extension ladder, how is that addressed? Pretty handy item to have for a lot of projects.