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Last Post 10/29/2008 11:00 PM by  LarryW
Pretty Neat Little Deal
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Tim_Johnson
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Posts:243


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03/08/2008 8:31 AM

    www.tapedolly.com

     

    I know a film canister works but this is a pretty neat rig.

    Tim Johnson
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    Tom Toll
    Moderator & Life Member
    Senior Member
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    Posts:1865


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    03/08/2008 10:20 AM

    Tim, we have been using the tape dolly for  many years and it works very well. I suggest everyone get it, as it does allow you to measure from the ladder or ground on  steep unclimbable roof.

    Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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    Janice_Toll
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    03/08/2008 11:56 AM

    To reinforce what Tom said, I don't use the tape dolly often, but after using it the first time, I decided it had already been worth the money spent.

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    BobH
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    Posts:759


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    03/08/2008 12:24 PM

    I have one, and it works great on asphalt comp roofs. Here's their web site http://tapedolly.com/ 

    I inspected a wood shake roof Wednesday (12/12 Widow-maker with wood shingles so deteriorated they crumbled like potato chips). No way was I getting on that roof without my rope - harness - ascender - descender gear, but it wasn't worth taking the time because the roof was 99% deteriorated with "burn through" deteriorating down to the felt between wood layers, with very isolated missing shingle and ridge.

    So - I was sitting there wondering if I was going to bother measuring out this 5,000 Sf house if I wasn't going to allow to replace the roof... plus it was a cheap flat-rate assignment that was not paying me well personally.

    So I took photos from the eve, using 2 story ladder placed against 1 story eve so I was standing a yard or so above the gutter, photos of deterioration and damage came out great.

    Then I got my tape-dolly, and it WOULD NOT navigate over the curled-cupped-lifted wood roof. No way.

    So I did what I have done before getting the tape-dolly, grabbed an old water bottle and cut a slice, poked in the Fat - Max and it was able to "bump up" the roof and make it to the ridge. If it didn't I would have thrown my fiberglass tape with tennis ball to the ridge.

    I do like the Tape-Dolly, and plan on going by a hobby store and see if I can "customize" mine with bigger wheels. The ones that come on it are great for asphalt roofs, and I would justify buying a 2nd one and putting big wheels on for mission tile - wood roofs.

    Unlike a water bottle being pushed up the slope, the wheels on the tape dolly do a great job of staying in line with where you want it to go. If you just use a film canister or soda-can with slice cut in it, the tape will go up 20' or so and start to slide sideways on you.

    Bob H
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    okclarryd
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    Posts:954


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    03/08/2008 12:57 PM
    The old Colt 45 lightweight cans worked will too.

    Ah, yes............the good ol' days
    Larry D Hardin
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    BobH
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    03/08/2008 1:47 PM
    Colt 45 lightweight cans worked will too
    Well 'ya know, we grab what is laying around in the back of our van...
    Bob H
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    Ray Hall
    Senior Member
    Senior Member
    Posts:2443


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    03/08/2008 4:59 PM

    some folks swear you can measure the rafter length with the fat max laser by standing in one spot and subracting the drip from the ridge, if you have glasses to see the laser spot.... never tried this, but I will on a crispy critter like Bob described.

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    BobH
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    03/09/2008 12:41 AM
    some folks swear you can measure the rafter length with the fat max laser
    I have 2 lasers (Disto and Fat Max) and the "red glasses" which do help a lot when you are outdoors.
    Lasers are AWESOME for interior room dimensions. Personally - I don't use them for roofs. I just don't trust the result because (unlike interiors) when I double check the result with a tape it isn't right on the money.

    There are "occasional" uses where a laser works for me outdoors. Like you approach the front door of the house, and there is a section of the house to the left of you, and a wing to the right of you, and you want to measure the distance between those 2 parallel walls. I can see the laser dot, and know that it isn't riding "up or down" the slope - it is 90 degrees to the target. So if I am shaking from too much coffee it isn't gonna matter. If I am shaking while pointing to the ridge of a roof, each shake could throw it off one foot. I would rather get one of Larry's beer cans, cut a slot with my bad-ass knife, and push the fat max to the ridge and be sure of the rafter length that way.

    I have used the laser to get the height of the eve at the drip edge and at the peak of the gable, and that works great - aiming for a 2' soffit is something I can do, coffee or not.
    Bob H
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    JimGary
    Member
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    Posts:470


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    03/09/2008 11:54 AM
    Just for those who want a laser meter but are to tight to pull the trigger, try checking Ebay periodically. I bought two Fat Max units off Ebay for $30 each. They were new in the box and work great. Just a thought for all my fellow tightwads out there.

    JWG
    I know the voices aren't real, but sometimes they're right!
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    Ray Hall
    Senior Member
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    Posts:2443


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    03/09/2008 3:37 PM

    Yea you are right Bob, you know if an adjuster can not measure the distance-length-size of any object he is reporting on their career is finished. My trainers said if you report "I got as close too it as I could" the files would always pass through. They were correct.

     

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    ddreisbach
    Member
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    Posts:172


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    03/16/2008 4:24 PM
    Just bought a Tape-Dolly on eBay for $14.50 delivered. Decided I'd try it for that price based on the above recommendations. Previously I've used a ping-pong ball with a slit in it on the end of my tape. It worked well but had wandering tendencies in a breeze.
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    paigetex
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    Posts:37


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    03/22/2008 8:43 PM
    Thanks for the website info. Mine's about worn out and I didn't know where to get a new one. I bought it at a roofer supply in St. Louis several years ago and love it! Add weights (washers) to keep it stable in the wind. If there is a good wind, it will still roam around, but all in all, a wonderful tool. Thanks
    Paige
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    Scampf
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    Posts:1


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    07/15/2008 8:06 PM

    Hi everyone.

     

    I am not an adjuster. I am a roofer, and please before anyone throws anything.... I am an honest one. No giggling. I tell the truth. My Wife and kids will back it up.

    I am also the first person to admit that I don't know everything so I try my best to learn from others who have relevent expeirience in my field. I was hoping I could leave a good tape measure tip and in turn someone might know about a sketching product I have been looking for.

    My roof drawings always end up looking like bad tic tac toe games. An adjuster I met on a roof in Florida, had a plastic sheet that was etched with fine lines. He would place a plain peice of paper over that plastic sheet , and be able to draw  perfect scetchs everytime. He could do a scale drawing quicker than I could jot down my cave art.

    Ok, here is my tip. Most likely, the majority of everyone here already knows this.

    Ping Pong Balls.

    Cut a small slit and force your tape into the ball. They are light, so the wind won't easily catch it. Small enough to just stick it in your pocket and have one less hassle when you are on a roof. Being round, they skip over almost anything. I can't remember a single time they have not worked for me. Except when I forget to bring them. They are also small enough that your measurments are very accurate and iif by some off chance your tape and ball get stuck under an overhang or something. Just yank it out of the ball and leave it up there. You can cut a slit in the ball and insert it or just glue it on the end with liquid nails or something.

    I guess I measure 200 or so roofs or so a year. Never had one yet, that could beat that ball trick. I hope that this tip is of use to someone. If anyone knows any good sources of information for a roofer who aspires to be one of the best I would certainly appreciate any advice.

     

    And the name of that sketchy thing.

     

    Thanks all.

     

     

     

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    JimGary
    Member
    Member
    Posts:470


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    07/15/2008 8:32 PM

    Sean, I believe the product yo are looking for is called Acculine. Find them at acculines.com. I use one, they take a little getting used to, but once you figure them out, you won't go out without it. Try it with a mechanical pencil. Gives a thin line that won't jump the grooves.

     

    JWG

    I know the voices aren't real, but sometimes they're right!
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    Ray Hall
    Senior Member
    Senior Member
    Posts:2443


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    07/16/2008 9:56 AM

    Sean if you give the customer a proposal with a diagram and the total sqs and your sales price, this is a giant step foward to get more jobs as the lump sum will always be questioned by an adjuster or your competators.

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    moco
    Member
    Member
    Posts:122


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    07/17/2008 10:18 PM

     

    I use one of these on steep slopes, just remove the rubber end and insert a painters extension handle or two

     

     

                                                                                                       

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    tennadjuster
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    Posts:29


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    10/28/2008 1:38 PM
    my dad uses the tape dolly...he loves it. I have yet to get one.

    just curious is there anything that can be used to measure the gable height from the ground? can you walk a tape dolly up a wall to the gable?
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    RandyC
    Member
    Member
    Posts:197


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    10/28/2008 7:40 PM
    I always used the ping pong ball. I bought a case of cheap ones made in china before the storm and stuffed an extra in my safari vest pocket. Ol' ball flew away on the other side of a ridge so I grabbed a new one and thought I try something clever. Before I'd cut an oval shape out of the ball to receive the tip of my fat max, but these openings were often a bit ragged. Always one to adjust the less than perfect, I pulled the Bic lighter (which I use to check windows for #'s of panes/flames. I thought I'd melt a nice shaped hole in the ball.

    POW! It was a little bomb. Adjusting first, and thinking afterwards, it was on one side of the ladder and I was on the other headed home. It was about to become an additional peril so I readjusted and returned to put that fire out. It was a nice hole with rounded edges, but I wouldn't want to go through that process a second time. I'll be getting a tape dolly.

    I think maybe they fill those balls with propane in China :-(

    To measure a gable, I yank open a 6 ft. folding rule and rest my Disto on top to measure the peak and then add 6 ft. At one of the JIT meetings I attended, one adjuster was telling us he used twenty ft. of PVC pipe to measure to the ridge. I don't know why one couldn't do that from as high as you can reach to the peak unless you're dealing with a thirty foot gable. Oh, yeah! Be sure you use plastic pipe. Ben Franklin already invented the lightning rod!

    Before the folding rule, I used a 5 ft. walking stick to ward off alligators, snakes, and unfed dogs as well as a base for measuring mucky rooms from the center and gable peaks until I left that stick in MN and got a folding rule instead. For a few claims I measured with the disto at chin level...but after a long day it's hard to keep your chin up and not that easy to add 5' 1 and 3/8 " to your disto measurement.

    If it don't fit; adjust it!

    Randy Cox



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    okclarryd
    Veteran Member
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    Posts:954


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    10/29/2008 8:37 PM
    Mine has white walls. And the aluminum is polished. And it has headers. And it's a automatic. And it's two-tone. And it has Cadillac horns.

    Sorry, got off track there a little bit
    Larry D Hardin
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    LarryW
    Member
    Member
    Posts:114


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    10/29/2008 11:00 PM
    You don't need a tape dolly, a fat max or an old beer can to measure a rafter length. If you simply determine the pitch and the run of the rafters, the length can be calculated. It is simply geometrical.
    No one is absolutely worthless, at the very least you can serve as a bad example.
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