Roof Parapet Height Requirements

It is highly recommended that any parapet wall acting as fall protection be 1 1m high meaning older buildings with existing smaller parapet walls are recommended to be extended to meet this 1 1m guideline.

Roof parapet height requirements.

No individual building façade can exceed 40 feet in height measured from the existing grade at the base of the building wall to the ridge of a pitched roof or top of a flat roof. Simply having a roof parapet does not guarantee that adequate fall protection is in place. The most common parapet wall construction in the city is brick masonry. Unfortunately many buildings get close to this height without quite meeting the height required by osha to provide fall protection.

If a parapet wall is a minimum of 30 high and the height plus the width of the wall is a least 48 then it was determined that the fall hazard was removed and this was a compliant method to protect construction employees. The height of the parapet shall be not less than 30 inches 762 mm above the point where the roof surface and the wall intersect. If a reinforced concrete beam is provided at the top of the wall the minimum height above the wall anchor may be 6 inches 152 mm. The minimum height of a parapet above any wall anchor shall be 12 inches 305 mm.

Parapet corrective work must be performed in conjunction with the installation of tension roof anchors. For new single family residential homes and additions height is also measured for each individual facade. There are several solutions to help you raise the height of your parapet that are cost effective and aesthetically pleasing. In the old days london tended to keep burning down and that tended to irritate the folks who lived in london.

Code compliant buildings from 70 100 years are subject to updates when there is a requirement for replacement. So projecting wooden eaves were banned in the building act of 1707 as a fire risk. In order for a roof parapet to provide adequate fall protection a roof parapet railing should be at least 42 in height.