I've been getting on and off my roof using a ladder poking through the roof and resting on a purlin.

I'll do that right to the end, leaving the last sheet of iron off just for that.

But eventually I'm going to have to put that last sheet on and the barge capping and the ridge cap and get on the roof somehow to do it.

And I can't figure out a safe and comfortable way to do it.

So I thought I might swallow what little pride I've got and ask the professionals and the experienced.

My thoughts:

Resting the ladder against the gable ends is no good because the angle of the gable is insecure for the ladder.

Resting the ladder against the walls means resting on the flimsy gutter - not good. Putting blocks in the gutter to make them more solid and taking some rope over the gutter, under the iron and around the top girt might make a ladder placed there fairly secure.

Putting some stakes in the ground at the foot and tying the ladder to them will make it even more secure.

Such a ladder has to rise about one metre above the roof to provide handhold when getting on and off.

That's why staking the bottom, that one metre at the top provides leverage which when unwarily applied can lift the bottom of the ladder and upset everything.

So given all of that such a ladder could be pretty stable.

But how good is trying to get from the front of that ladder out to the side and the back and onto the roof?

And, coming back, grabbing the top of it from the roof side and trying to swing around it to the outside and descend?


The only other way I can see is to go up to the gable top, the ridge top. The ladder would rest securely up there and could be tied to the ends of the purlins/roof truss join.

But the same problem: how good is trying to swing from the front of that ladder onto the roof at the back of it?



The current method - coming up through the roof - is less than perfect I suppose because one steps sideways on and off the ladder and govt advice and such seems to say 'don't' step sideways off/on a ladder and considering the dangers of pushing a ladder off balance sideways I see what they mean. But sensibly in the real world it is about the best you can get I think. You just make sure it is tied good.


But what am I going to do when I've got that last sheet on?

It's going to be up over the gutter side I guess. But I thought I'd ask.


There's an instructional video for building sheds that I've seen and in that the guy doing the roof steps on and off a step ladder. A tall step ladder as tall as the roof or very nearly so, and with a special big flat top. He does this with no one holding the step ladder, too.

I'd reckon that was a cool way to go and I'd do that, too, if I had such a ladder, which I don't. But I'd securely fasten the feet of it down.

And a quick look around seems to suggest such a ladder would be up in the $500 range or even more. Which I'd be reluctant to spend on such an item.

ab


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