This is a cedar shake roof cleaning job from a ravine-edge estate in The Quarry, Dublin, Ohio — and it’s one of our most challenging projects in The Quarry. The main house is a complex multi-wing cedar shake home with multiple hips, valleys, dormers, and a skylight. But the real story is what sits behind it: a screened porch perched on stilts 25 feet above a ravine , connected to the main house by an elevated walkway. No standard ladder setup would work. We cleaned it with safety harnesses — because at Forza, we don’t walk away from hard-to-reach roofs. Learn more about our Quarry services →
The Quarry’s Unique Microclimate
The Quarry on the Scioto sits in a natural limestone quarry basin along the Scioto River, creating a microclimate that accelerates organic growth on cedar shake roofs. The combination of river humidity, quarry-wall wind patterns, and dense mature tree canopy means these roofs weather faster than homes in surrounding Dublin neighborhoods. Properties along the ravine edges face the worst conditions — constant shade, trapped moisture, and zero air circulation on structures buried in the tree canopy. Read more about The Quarry →
Part 1: The Main House
The thick bio was taking over the roof
Drag the slider to see two views of how bad this roof had gotten. Thick green moss rooted deep into the wood grain on one side, and a full slope view on the other showing moss running along every course of shakes. This is what years of constant shade and trapped moisture do to cedar in The Quarry.
This moss is now rooted into the wood fibers. NOT GOOD!
Two more angles that tell the story. The moss isn’t just sitting on the surface — it’s rooted into the wood fibers of the shakes. On the gutter edge, it’s hanging over and trapping moisture against the wood. On the ravine side, every joint between shakes has moss growing in it. Left alone, these roots work deeper into the grain and the damage becomes permanent.
Part 2: The Elevated Porch — Safety Harness Required
A screened porch perched 25 feet above a ravine, connected to the main house by an elevated walkway. No standard approach. Just safety harnesses and determination.
THE CHALLENGE A Roof You Can’t Reach
Behind the main house, an elevated walkway extends out over a steep ravine to a screened porch — a beautiful outdoor living space perched on stilts among the treetops. The four-slope cedar shake hip roof with decorative cupola was covered in green moss after years of constant shade from the surrounding canopy. The structure sits approximately 25 feet above the ravine floor, surrounded by dense vegetation on all sides. There is no ground access. The only way to reach this roof is across the walkway and up a ladder — with nothing but air and trees below.
⚠ Why Safety Harnesses Were Required
This structure sits in an FAA No-Fly Zone, meaning our standard drone assessment wasn’t possible for the initial inspection. The porch is elevated 25 feet above a ravine with no ground access on three sides. Standard ladder setups cannot be safely anchored. Our crew used full safety harnesses with anchor points, extension ladders secured to the walkway structure, and a buddy system with a ground spotter. Every Forza technician is trained for elevated work — because in The Quarry, some of the most beautiful homes have the most challenge to access the roofs.
THE SOLUTION Harness Up, Get It Done
On July 14, 2020, our crew walked the elevated walkway, set up the extension ladder against the porch structure, and harnessed up. The green safety rope you see in these photos is anchored to the cupola at the peak — providing fall protection while our technician worked his way around the four-slope hip roof with a spray wand, applying treatment section by section. The yellow hose runs all the way from the van in the driveway, across the walkway, and up the ladder to the roof.
Watch the Crew Work
Our crew member working from a ladder with professional standoffs, applying treatment to the porch roof section by section. The safety harness and rope are visible throughout. This is what it takes to clean a roof that sits 25 feet above a ravine.
✅ Why This Matters
Most roof cleaning companies would look at this porch and say “we can’t do that.” They’d clean the main house and leave the porch untreated — or tell the homeowner it’s not worth the risk. At Forza, we believe every cedar shake roof deserves proper care, regardless of how hard it is to reach. Our safety harness protocol means we can treat structures that other companies won’t touch. The result? The entire property gets the same level of treatment — main house and porch alike.
THE RESULT Verified from Above
After obtaining FAA clearance, we returned on August 20, 2020 to capture the after shots. The main house roof is back to its natural golden-tan — every wing, every valley, every hip line. The neighbor’s roof next to it was cleaned about a month before this one, so both properties are now matching. The elevated porch deep in the tree canopy — the same structure our crew cleaned with safety harnesses just five weeks earlier — is also restored. From above, you can see just how isolated that porch is, surrounded by dense hardwood canopy on all sides with the ravine dropping away below.
Live in The Quarry?
Whether your home has a standard roof or a hard-to-reach structure over a ravine, Forza has the equipment, training, and determination to get it done right. We serve all streets in The Quarry including Quarry Ln, Quarry Way, Scioto Pointe, Limestone Ct, and all homes within the community — including the ones other companies won’t touch.
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