Roof Ladders - What is a Roof Ladder, and How it Can Benefit You

You may have heard of a roof ladder before, but don’t know exactly what it is or how it works. Basically, a roof ladder sort of looks like a normal extension ladder, the difference being that it has two hooks attached on the end of it. These hooks will allow the ladder to attach to the peak of your roof, securing the ladder so that it can hang across your roof. This allows for easy and safe movement up and down the roof while giving a base to balance and move from.

If you’ve never actually seen a ladder like this before, then you may be having a little trouble imagining how it looks. In addition to the pictures in this article, here is a quick description to hopefully help you paint a mental image. Picture this: the ladder sort of hangs down from the top of the roof. The hooks rest at the pinnacle of the roof’s steep, securing it in place. This isn’t a standalone ladder, as you’ll still need a normal extension ladder to actually climb up on to the roof.

Now that we have that out of the way, there are actually a few different types of roof ladders. Some of them come with retractable hooks, allowing the hooks to slide back in when the ladder is not in use for easy transportation/mobility. This can be a great option if you have limited space. Other ladders will come with the hooks permanently extended, which can allow them to be more versatile when it comes to the roofs they can be used on. On certain roofs, you may need a roofing ladder with permanently extended hooks in order to actually be able to fit the ladder’s hooks on the peak of the roof. And finally, companies also manufacture roof ladder hooks which can be bought and attached. So if you have an extra high quality extension ladder lying around, then this option could be perfect for you as you can just add/take off the hooks whenever you need to work on your roof.

So now that you have a pretty good idea of what a roof ladder is and what forms they are available in, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I bother using one?”, which is a good question.

Perhaps one of the main benefits you gain can be said to be safety. Having a ladder that you can balance on and use as a sturdy base while working on your roof is invaluable. Instead of climbing around on a bare roof, you can have confidence in your footing, knowing that there is something there to hold you up. This can be especially useful when working on roofs that have a steep slope, or roofs that may just be slippery in general.

Beyond simply the added gain in balance and security you gain, it also gives you the option of an additional security measure. You can choose to wear a harness, so that should you end up losing your balance and falling, you still have something to break the distance of the fall from the ground. This is very helpful to wear regardless of if you’re using a ladder or not, but even if you are it’s still a great safety measure that you can take.

In addition to the huge increase in safety using a roof ladder grants you, it also can help out your roof as well. When using this ladder, your weight is distributed evenly over a large area of the roof rather than being contained in the small spot where you are currently working on the roof. If your roof is old or weathered, then this can come into play, so using this type of ladder can be a nice added benefit to the life length of your roof.

So while using a roof ladder does grant you a lot of extra safety, you still need to make sure you take the necessary precautions and use the ladder correctly. When you’re setting the ladder up, make sure it is firmly secure. You’ll be putting all your weight and balance on this ladder, so you really need to be sure that it is secure. You may have to move it around a bit before you’re satisfied that it’s in a good spot. An additional safety measure you may want to take is tying the ladder down so you can be sure that it will be stationary and not move under your weight. This can be done using a rope or a bungee cord. Often times the sides of the roof may have a rung where you can loop the rope/cord around, securing the ladder to it. This can secure the ladder and stop it from potentially swaying back and forth.

In conclusion, roof ladders are a great tool when it comes to working on top of a roof. They offer a lot of increased safety as well as utility. However, like many tools, safety will still ultimately come down to the user. Precautions such as wearing a harness can be very helpful, especially in rough conditions or on steep roofs. When using this type of ladder, be sure that the ladder is firmly secured before climbing on it. Should you buy roof hooks to turn a normal ladder into a roof ladder, then be very careful and thorough when installing them to make sure that the hooks are attached correctly and securely. Remember, safety always comes first. Happy roofing!