Answers · Materials and upkeep
Is it safe to walk on my own roof?
The short answer
Generally, do not. Falls from domestic roofs are a well-documented cause of serious injury, and foot traffic damages roofing — asphalt loses granules under a foot on a hot day, tile cracks, and older sheathing can give way. Almost every homeowner inspection task can be done from the ground or from the attic.
What foot traffic does
- Asphalt: granule loss under each step, worst in hot weather when the shingle is soft.
- Tile: cracks, often invisibly, and the leak appears months later.
- Metal: dents and, on some profiles, distortion at the seams.
- Old sheathing: it can give way, which is both a fall and a repair.
What to do instead
- Binoculars or a phone camera at maximum zoom, from several positions on the ground.
- An upstairs window, which often gives a better view of a slope than the ground does.
- The attic with a flashlight, which is where the most useful evidence usually is.
- A drone, if you have one and the airspace allows it.
Also asked
- What about cleaning the gutters?
- Gutter cleaning from a properly placed ladder is a different risk from walking a slope, and it is still how many people are hurt. The common mistake is reaching sideways from the ladder rather than moving it. Move the ladder.
General information about roofs and about hiring, not advice about your building. Roofing contractor licensing, permits, insurance practice and deductible rules are set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own authority is the current answer.