The old covering is partly stripped. An unfinished penetration is open. Rain is moving toward the jobsite. Your roofing bad weather plan must tell the supervisor when to stop, what can still be secured, and when the crew must leave.
Make the call while safe options remain. Not after the temporary cover starts lifting. Not after the exit route turns slick.
Build the roofing bad weather plan before mobilization
Write the plan for the roof in front of you. A small repair with no open deck has a different shutdown problem from a re-roof with stripped sections, unfinished flashing, and stored material above ground.
Attach the plan to the accepted scope and work order. Write down the supervisor’s primary communication method, backup contact method, outdoor assembly point, protected shelter, and who to call in an emergency. State which location the crew uses for lightning, hail, high winds, and other hazards covered by the job plan. Brief the crew on those fields before anybody opens the roof.
Map every stage that exposes the building
Break the planned work into stages. Mark where each stage could leave decking, underlayment, valleys, ridges, penetrations, wall junctions, or internal areas exposed.
For each stage, write down:
- what will be opened
- how much can be opened at once
- what temporary protection is planned
- where that protection will be stored
- how workers will reach it
- which route the crew will use to withdraw
- what must remain visible for an inspection
Do not set the stripping area from habit. Base it on the roof, crew, access, available protection, current work stage, and conditions expected during the work window.
Name each decision-maker
The same supervisor may hold every role. That is fine. The document still needs to name who can:
- delay or cancel mobilization before the crew leaves
- stop production after work starts
- direct the roofing site shutdown
- inspect the job and approve the restart
Do not leave the stop decision with someone who cannot see the roof. The site supervisor needs clear authority to stop production without waiting for the homeowner, property manager, general contractor, or office to agree.
Every worker must also know that immediate danger is different from a planned stop. Tell the crew to withdraw from immediate danger and report the condition once clear. Review OSHA fall-protection guidance (opens in a new tab) for roofing work, then check whether an OSHA-approved State Plan (opens in a new tab) covers the job location.
Write observable review and stop triggers
Do not invent one weather limit for every roof. Set roof-specific triggers for sustained wind and gusts, nearby lightning, rain, hail, snow or ice, wet or frosted surfaces, heat or cold exposure, reduced visibility, blocked drainage, unstable access, and moving materials.
Separate review triggers, controlled-shutdown triggers, and immediate-withdrawal triggers. A forecast change may call for another check. Rain approaching an open section may allow a controlled shutdown while access remains stable. Lightning, material movement, failed access, or any condition that creates immediate danger bypasses protection work and requires withdrawal.
Your roofing bad weather plan should also state when the next review happens. A plan without a review time gets forgotten once production starts.
Run the roofer weather checklist before opening the roof
Check the forecast first. Then inspect the jobsite. They are different records.
The forecast shows what information was available before the decision. The site record shows what the supervisor actually saw at the roof.
Record the forecast and work window
Use the National Weather Service (opens in a new tab) for official U.S. forecasts, watches, warnings, and alert information. Record the job location, forecast issue time, time checked, information reviewed, planned work window, and next review time.
Name the person who decided whether to mobilize. If the decision changes later, keep the first entry and add the new one. Do not overwrite the earlier call.
Inspect the roof, access, and area below
At the jobsite, look at the roof surface, edges, access equipment, ground conditions, drainage paths, and internal area below the planned work. Record the conditions observed at that time.
Check the section that will be stripped or opened. Identify the point where the building becomes exposed and the last practical point where the crew can stop without leaving avoidable openings.
Look at where sheets, rolls, fasteners, tools, packaging, and waste will sit. Material scattered across the work area becomes a withdrawal problem when conditions change.
Read the product and equipment instructions
Check the roofing product instructions before opening the roof. Record the permitted substrate condition, weather exposure, storage method, attachment method, and application limits for the product being installed.
Check the instructions for access equipment, power tools, temporary covers, and restraints used on the job. If the planned conditions fall outside those instructions, change the work stage or hold the work.
Check protection and the withdrawal route
Confirm that the planned covers, restraints, fasteners, water-control materials, and communication equipment are at the site. Store them where designated workers can reach them without crossing the whole roof.
Walk the withdrawal route. Do not block it with pallets, removed material, cords, or waste. Confirm that the outdoor assembly point and protected shelter remain reachable for the hazards named in the plan.
Add these fields to the job sheet before stripping starts. The work order template gives you a place to connect the assigned crew, scope, site notes, and attachments.
Stop production and run the shutdown in order
Watch the roof as well as the forecast. Conditions can change first at an edge, around a temporary cover, or underfoot.
When a controlled-shutdown trigger is reached, follow one order. If the condition creates immediate danger, bypass protection and material-control work. Send the crew to the safe location named for that hazard and call for help when needed.
Stop the roofing task and count the crew
Stop cutting, stripping, fastening, and installing. Do not stretch production to finish another run, remove another section, or fit one more piece of flashing.
Account for the people on the roof, on access equipment, and in the area below. Withdraw anyone who is not needed for the planned shutdown. Keep people away from the area below loose material or water entry.
Stopping production and attempting temporary protection are separate decisions. The supervisor names the designated workers who may complete reachable shutdown work while access and the withdrawal route remain safe.
Protect reachable openings
Cover only the openings that designated workers can reach while footing, access, visibility, and the withdrawal route remain safe. Follow the attachment method written for the job.
Keep drainage paths open. A cover that redirects water into another opening has moved the problem rather than controlled it.
Temporary protection reduces exposure. It does not guarantee that the building is watertight, and it never outranks worker safety.
Restrain reachable material and remove tools
Restrain or remove reachable sheets, underlayment, fasteners, packaging, tools, and waste. Do not chase anything that has already moved beyond the safe work area.
If a temporary cover begins moving while loose material remains nearby, reassess the shutdown immediately. Leave the unfinished work when the planned method no longer controls the task.
Leave unfinished protection and complete the headcount
If footing, visibility, access, or the exit route deteriorates, abandon the remaining protection work. Do not send someone back for a close photograph or across an unsafe surface to catch a moving cover.
Complete the final headcount at the safe location named for the hazard. Record any opening, cover, material, or tool left exposed or unsecured.
Check accessible internal areas from a safe position. Move people away from visible water entry. Isolate affected tools, cords, and electrical equipment under the job’s safety process before anyone uses them again.
Take wide photographs that identify the roof section and work stage. Label each image with the direction, time, and condition shown. A close image of wet underlayment means little if nobody can identify its location.
Keep roof weather delay records that explain the decision
A note that says “rain delay” is not enough. The record should show what the crew knew, what the supervisor observed, what decision was made, and what work remained unfinished.
Keep forecast information separate from site observations. Record the stop time, work stage, trigger, first and final headcounts, shutdown actions, unfinished protection, photographs, notifications, and next review time.
Write facts. “Water visible below the unfinished east junction” is useful. “Hidden ceiling damage throughout” is not supported unless that area has been inspected.
Store the record against the same job as the work order, photographs, customer messages, time entries, change orders, and restart approval. If you run jobs in Yes Foreman, attach the plan, photographs, weather record, and approved change order to that job.
Split time and materials into plain cost buckets
Record ordinary production labor separately from shutdown labor, temporary protection, inspection work, and remobilization. Separate roof materials installed under the accepted scope from materials used only for temporary protection.
These entries do not decide what can be charged. They give you the facts needed to read the accepted contract, cost the event, and prepare a change order if added work is approved.
Update the customer, schedule, and job documents
Tell the homeowner, property manager, or general contractor that production has stopped, which roof section was open, what protection was completed, and when the next review will happen.
Do not claim that concealed areas are dry. Do not promise a new completion date before you have inspected the roof, materials, access, and remaining sequence.
Keep the delay note separate from a change order
A weather record documents the event. It does not automatically extend the schedule, approve extra work, or change the accepted price.
Read the accepted contract before deciding what the delay means for time or cost. If inspection, removal, replacement, or remobilization adds work outside the accepted scope, describe it and get approval through a change order before proceeding.
The house example is electrical, but the document rule is the same. At 14 Oak Street, Quote Q-1847 was 1,105. Extra cable and chasing became an approved 160 change order, so Invoice INV-1847 was 1,265. These are sample currency units, not roofing rates. The site note recorded the condition. The change order approved the added work.
Use the guide to writing a clear quote when the added-work document needs a defined scope, exclusions, price, and approval record.
Capture the weather event
Use this short field record while the event is happening:
ROOF WEATHER EVENT RECORD Job and address: [job number and address] Supervisor: [name] Decision authority: [name or role] Forecast source and location: [source and location] Forecast issue and check times: [times] Information reviewed: [forecast, watch, warning, or alert] Next review: [time] Observed condition and time: [facts and time] Roof and access condition: [facts] Work stage and exposed sections: [stage and locations] Decision and trigger: [decision and observed trigger] Initial headcount: [names or count] Designated shutdown workers: [names] Protection completed: [work] Protection unfinished: [location and reason] Loose materials and tools: [condition and action] Safe location used: [outdoor assembly point or protected shelter] Final headcount: [names or count] Photographs: [file, roof section, direction, and time] Recipient notified: [homeowner, property manager, or general contractor] Notification time and method: [details] Next update promised: [time and method] Added work found: [scope or none identified] Change-order status: [not required, pending, approved, or declined] Cost record references: [shutdown, protection, inspection, and remobilization]
Check whether an inspection is required before covering
Bad weather can change the order of decking, underlayment, flashing, penetration, and covering work. That matters when part of the job must remain visible for a permit inspection.
Compare the revised work sequence with the inspection status on the work order. If there is a permit or inspection question, contact the local building department before covering the affected stage. Record the answer against the job.
The weather delay note is not inspection approval. Do not cover the affected work until the inspection question has been answered by the body responsible for it.
Inspect the physical job again
Clear weather is not a restart approval. Access equipment may have shifted. Stored material may be wet. A temporary cover may have moved. Water may be visible below an unfinished junction.
Inspect the access route, edges, roof surface, temporary protection, drainage paths, and internal area below. Check stored materials, tools, cords, and equipment before use. Record what can be reused, what needs further inspection, and what must be removed from service.
If water entry is visible, assign the inspection or repair work before covering the area. Do not infer concealed damage from one photograph. If the next task has changed from shutdown control to diagnosing a leak, use the roof leak repair estimate process to define the inspection scope and exclusions.
Approve a specific next stage
The named restart approver should use the roofing bad weather plan to state which roof section and work stage may resume. Record the approval date and time.
Do not write “job safe to restart” without a defined task. Approval to inspect a section is not approval to strip another section of roof.
Record that decision in the restart block:
ROOF WORK RESTART Access, edges, and roof inspected: [findings] Temporary protection and drainage checked: [findings] Stored materials checked: [findings] Tools and equipment checked: [findings] Water entry or damage recorded: [location and findings] Inspection required before covering: [status and building department answer] Revised work sequence: [roof section and next stage] Restart approved by: [name, date, and time] Customer update sent: [recipient, time, and method]
Attach the restart block to the roofing bad weather plan, brief the assigned crew, and approve only the next recorded work stage.