So in this case “smart” is another way of saying, “Making a design decision to minimize the likelihood of someone falling off the roof.” Never hurts to be smart like that, question is, how far do you go to make the roof idiot- and accident-proof?
far from the building edge.
So I assume that means you comply with IBC 1015.6 regarding the distance of equipment to the roof edge. Assuming that’s the case, the extra distance is a good start to minimizing the chance of someone falling off the roof.
to still add a 30"-36" parapet all around
If you’re going to add a guard then make sure it complies with the code, otherwise when someone bumps your 30” high “guard” and flips over it and falls off the roof you’ll get sued for not specifying a guard as defined by the building code.
A guard would be helpful, of course. I’ve been on a few flat roofs, once I’m on the roof I’m not too worried, but what scares me is going from the ladder to the roof and back onto the ladder - if I did it for a living it probably wouldn’t freak me out. If It was me I’d think about adding a permanent ladder for access to your roof.
A client of mine recently added a guard around the flat roof on one of his buildings, it has about an 18” high parapet, mechanical equipment is probably about 20’ from the edge of the roof. Someone was on the roof and they stumbled and fell on the roof deck near the edge of the roof, he decided he didn’t like the risk so he added a railing around the roof.
or is that not necessary in this case? I'd prefer not to.
You could install anchor points for fall arrest gear, 1015.6 has an exception that allows that instead of the guards.
