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[WCG]

I built a stairs in the wall, so my dwarves could roof my chicken coop (blue peahen coop, actually, but you get the idea). Now, I want to deconstruct the stairs and repair the wall. However, they stand on the roof to deconstruct the down stairs portion, which then leaves them stranded up there!

I'm building an above-ground fort, with towers, so I'll be building lots of roofs. How do I do it and not leave dwarves stranded on the roofs everywhere?

Maybe I could just leave the top of the stairs on the roof, but I want it to look right in Stonesense. Thanks.

[Mimodo]

Generally whenever I'm roofing over constructions, I build "scaffolding" staircases up the outside of the building. That way the dwarves can just deconstruct the outside scaffolding once the entire roof is complete

[ST753M]

I put a ramp in place of one of the walls, then deconstruct it and replace it with a wall when the roof is finished.  With ramps, there aren't any down stairs to worry about removing. 

[Ruhn]

I build a 1z stair outside the wall of the top level to the roof.  Once it is done I put a door or wall to block access.

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[Urist McShire]

I usually build a stair on top of the wall at the wall's highest point where I want it to be roofed over. I have my dwarves go up, build all of the floor, then build all of the surrounding walls to give it support, and then deconstruct the down and up stairs and replace them with the final wall segment.

[Loci]

I built a stairs in the wall, so my dwarves could roof my chicken coop (blue peahen coop, actually, but you get the idea). Now, I want to deconstruct the stairs and repair the wall. However, they stand on the roof to deconstruct the down stairs portion, which then leaves them stranded up there!

You didn't happen to issue the deconstruction job while a dwarf was already on the roof, did you?

In my experience, if they approach from below they generally deconstruct from below as well. But ST753M's suggestion of using a ramp instead is a sound idea that should take all the guesswork out of it.

[WCG]

I usually build a stair on top of the wall at the wall's highest point where I want it to be roofed over. I have my dwarves go up, build all of the floor, then build all of the surrounding walls to give it support, and then deconstruct the down and up stairs and replace them with the final wall segment.

If I understand you correctly, that's exactly what I tried to do. But the dwarf stood on the roof when he went to deconstruct the down stairs, so he wouldn't have been able to get off the roof again afterwards.

Generally whenever I'm roofing over constructions, I build "scaffolding" staircases up the outside of the building. That way the dwarves can just deconstruct the outside scaffolding once the entire roof is complete

This would work the same way, though, wouldn't it? Don't your dwarves stand on the roof to deconstruct the top portion of that? For me, they don't seem to like working from below.

You didn't happen to issue the deconstruction job while a dwarf was already on the roof, did you?

No, I didn't. There wasn't anyone on the roof when I gave the order, and there weren't any other jobs to be done up there. The dwarf deliberately climbed up onto the roof in order to deconstruct his only way down again - twice!

I put a ramp in place of one of the walls, then deconstruct it and replace it with a wall when the roof is finished.  With ramps, there aren't any down stairs to worry about removing. 

The ramp is a great idea, when I only need to go up one level. And maybe I could use that as a work-around at other times, too - getting most of the way with a stairs, then building a floor and ramp for the last bit. Thanks!

I appreciate all of the suggestions here, people. Thank-you. I think the ramp idea will work the best for me, though. I'll give that a try.

[SixOfSpades]

As I recall, there was a pathing issue with flying creatures, where they could magically slip between a wall & floor tile. That is, if the central roof of a building is built of actual floor tiles, but the edges only look (and act) like floor tiles because they're actually the tops of wall tiles on the z-level below, flying creatures could somehow fit though that nonexistent gap. To make a truly secure structure, you had to build additional floor tiles on top of the wall tiles, so that the entire roof of your structure was covered in uninterrupted floor.

I don't know if this issue was fixed in 0.34+ or 0.40+, or if it was ever addressed at all . . . since you say you're just building a glorified henhouse, you're probably not all that concerned about flying invaders pathing to your nest boxes, but I just thought I should mention it.

[pisskop]

I do like the Egyptians and make a ramped path up the perimeter of my towers.  Or if they are large enough I only do it from a Point Of Interest, like a top floor so I can slope the roof.

[WCG]

As I recall, there was a pathing issue with flying creatures, where they could magically slip between a wall & floor tile.

Thanks. As you say, I'm not overly concerned with my glorified henhouse - this is mainly so I can lock the doors to keep dwarves from getting the eggs, while I'm building my flock - but this is an above-ground fortress, and I'll be putting up towers and such.

I was more worried about the new climbing abilities in the game. I've seen people complaining about marksdwarves climbing down from their ramparts to fight goblins in melee, so I wonder if they're getting through those nonexistent gaps in the roof, too (just in the reverse direction)?

Thanks for this, anyway. It wouldn't hurt to put floor tiles at the edges, just in case.

[JLT]

As I recall, there was a pathing issue with flying creatures, where they could magically slip between a wall & floor tile. That is, if the central roof of a building is built of actual floor tiles, but the edges only look (and act) like floor tiles because they're actually the tops of wall tiles on the z-level below, flying creatures could somehow fit though that nonexistent gap. To make a truly secure structure, you had to build additional floor tiles on top of the wall tiles, so that the entire roof of your structure was covered in uninterrupted floor.

I don't know if this issue was fixed in 0.34+ or 0.40+, or if it was ever addressed at all . . . since you say you're just building a glorified henhouse, you're probably not all that concerned about flying invaders pathing to your nest boxes, but I just thought I should mention it.

That isn't a bug, afaik. Creatures can path diagonally, horizontally as well as vertically.

[Tacomagic]

I typically build a scaffolding at least 1 tile away from the wall, and then cross the gap with floor sections.  If it's going to be tall, on the first level above the ground I add an extra bit of floor section and build a linked support under it.  That makes it easy to deconstruct the scaffolding when I'm done with it.  Remove all the floors linked to the structure I built, remove all the ground-level stairs, and then pull the lever.

[WCG]

I typically build a scaffolding at least 1 tile away from the wall, and then cross the gap with floor sections.

And your dwarves are actually smart enough to stand on the scaffolding, not on the roof, when they remove the floor section?

When building walls and other construction, I can do that old workaround of suspending construction on the tiles I don't want them to stand on. But I can't do that in deconstruction - not, at least, when I don't want them standing on a constructed roof (i.e. floor tiles used as a roof).

So far, I haven't seen any good solution for that, except for using a ramp. That ramp is a great idea (my thanks, once more), which can be used even in tall construction with a little thought (build a wall section just below where you need the ramp), since there isn't a top section to that. Thus, a dwarf will deconstruct a ramp without leaving himself stranded above it.

[Bumber]

And your dwarves are actually smart enough to stand on the scaffolding, not on the roof, when they remove the floor section?

They probably should as long as they come from the direction of the stairs and not the roof.

[SixOfSpades]

And your dwarves are actually smart enough to stand on the scaffolding, not on the roof, when they remove the floor section?

They probably should as long as they come from the direction of the stairs and not the roof.

I find that when dwarves remove constructions, they tend to want to stand to the north or west of what they're deconstructing.