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I would like to attach an eyebolt to the ridgeline of my metal roof. I can then attach a rope to that when I need to work on the roof. I am a climber and have the knowledge and gear to secure myself. The rope is mainly to allow me to get up the 10/12 central part of the roof (the ridgeline of which I'll mount the eye-bolt), and not slide off the adjacent 5/12 portions of the roof. It will not be subject to dynamic loading (catching falls); the biggest loads it will sustain are when I haul on it to get up the 10/12 roof (it's impossible otherwise, very slippery).

Since the ridge cap is just a fairly flimsy piece of galvalume, the eyebolt must be secured without reliance on it (and RTV silicon caulked to it). My plan is to drill a hole through the ridge cap, the eyebolt will come through that, and then be attached to the rafters with two u-bolts. Since this is the ridge, it's where the rafters meet. So additionally, I will reinforce the rafters with two triangular shaped steel plates (one on each side of the area where the rafters meet); these will be bolted through the rafter with 2-3 bolts, and then the u-bolts will go through them as well.

This picture shows the detail.

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    It won't be subject to dynamic loading...until it is. Falls aren't usually planned events, and if you're tied to a rope it's going to be involved, regardless of whether you planned for it to be. – Drew Mar 13 '18 at 19:00
  • What's the question? Your plan sounds like serious overkill to me. A Prusik knot or similar should be employed to prevent massive loading from a long fall, and then a simple lag screw eye bolt into the rafter would do. So would a rope over the top to a tree. How often do you plan on fixing your roof, anyway? – isherwood Mar 13 '18 at 19:16
  • I get up there twice a year or so (blow leaves off, clean chimney), and I have been putting ropes across the roof tied to trees, but it's a PITA to put the rope up and I don't think it's all that secure. – RustyShackleford Mar 13 '18 at 19:27
  • There are not going to be long falls. Just sliding off the 10/12 roof onto the perpendicualr-intersecting 5/12 roofs on each side. The fall from the 5/12 roof to the ground is 10-12 ft, but people walk around on those without any protection. I will probably use a grigri instead of prussik (which I'd been using with my thrown-across rope). – RustyShackleford Mar 13 '18 at 19:30
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    Ridge lines don't get as much water running down as the lower part of the roof but I would want a roofing product like blackjack to seal the hole. The sealer needs to be able to handle extreme's of hot and cold that will be flexible or it will start leaking in a year or two. – Ed Beal Mar 13 '18 at 21:20
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If I may suggest an alternative since putting a hole in any roof is better avoided.

I have a 10/12 pitched roof and I use an extension ladder with a stand-off stabilizer to reach the peak.

stand-off stabilizer

The ladder is laid flat on the roof with the stabilizer pointing skyward. Extend the section and slide upward towards the peak and then flip the ladder so the stabilizer hooks over the peak.

Climb up the rungs which offer both hand and footholds. Once you’re at the peak, tie off your safety line, hoist a plank to lay on the opposite side of the peak and insert through the top rung. Lash it off or use pipe clamps and you’ve reinforced the setup. I have used it to rebuild chimneys, antenna work, placing hundreds of pounds of brick, etc... on it.

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  • Thanks for the suggestion. I think the 5/12 roof that's on either side of the 10/12, perpendicular to it and butting into it, would make such a ladder untenable. – RustyShackleford Mar 13 '18 at 23:12

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