Roof Parapet Height Requirements

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.

Roof parapet height requirements.

G parapets of excessive height. The minimum height of a parapet above any wall anchor shall be 12 inches 305 mm. The minimum height of a parapet wall above the roof surface is 30 inches. This is in response to your letter of january 28 1983 concerning perimeter protection at setback roof levels.

Where building parapet heights exceed 42 inches special provisions shall be employed to provide a safe means of access to the top of the parapet for rigging purposes if such access is necessary to the safe performance of the work. 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. Has your company ever utilized the height width calculation for parapet walls to be used for fall protection. Osha 1910 29 b contains system requirements that employers must follow to ensure guardrail systems will protect workers from falling to lower levels.

1910 29 b 1 the top edge height of top rails or equivalent guardrail system members are 42 inches 107 cm plus or minus 3 inches 8 cm above the walking working surface. A parapet height of 29 inches where employees are exposed to falls from a roof does not comply with the height requirement in 29 cfr 1910 23 e 1 and can not be considered acceptable by osha. This new r value is r 33 which is an increase in insulation thickness. 2015 ibc code commentary.

Employees shall be protected from falls from roofs that are of a height of more than 20 feet by the use of a roof jack system as provided in section 1724 a a minimum of 24 inch high parapet or other method affording equivalent protection. Parapet corrective work must be performed in conjunction with the installation of tension roof anchors. In order for a roof parapet to provide adequate fall protection a roof parapet railing should be at least 42 in height unfortunately many buildings get close to this height without quite meeting the height required by osha to provide fall protection.