Guide to Roof Access Ladders, Hatches and Ship Ladders

Guide to Roof Access Ladders, Hatches and Ship Ladders

Roof access is not something a building gets right by accident. On a commercial building the route to the roof is used by maintenance crews, HVAC techs, inspectors and sometimes the public, and the difference between a proper fixed ladder or hatch and whatever was installed years ago shows up every time somebody has to get up there. If you are specifying access for a new building or fixing what is there, the choice comes down to a few decisions.

Fixed Ladders and Cages

A fixed ladder is bolted to the structure and stays. It is the cheapest way to provide access and the most permanent. The catch is that a fixed ladder is only accessible at the top, so it works on a wall where a truck or a person can reach the bottom, and it needs fall protection at the top once it passes the height where a fall becomes the primary risk.

Cages on tall fixed ladders are a well-known point of debate - they manage a fall rather than prevent it, and ladder safety systems or a cage combined with a personal fall arrest system are the modern answer. The specialty ladder side of our catalog is where these and the access ladders that go with them live.

Ship Ladders: Steep Stairs, Not Rungs

A ship ladder is closer to a steep stair than a ladder. It has treads you stand on rather than rungs you grip, a handrail on both sides, and a pitch that is walkable rather than climbed. On a building where the roof is reached regularly or where a worker has to carry something up, the ship ladder is the safer and more practical answer.

That is why industrial and mechanical rooms standardize on them. Standing on a tread with both feet and a handrail on both sides changes the access from a climb into a walk, and it stays usable in wet conditions when rungs would not be. Our Werner walk-through ladder is the same idea applied to a portable ladder at the top of a wall, letting a worker step through onto the landing instead of around the rail.

Roof Hatches

A roof hatch moves access inside the building. The worker climbs a fixed ladder or ship ladder in a mechanical room and steps through a hatch onto the roof, which keeps the access route weatherproof and keeps it out of the public's reach. It also costs more, because it means cutting the roof and detailing the opening so it does not leak.

Where the hatch is the right answer is any building with mechanical equipment inside and a roof the crew needs to get to in bad weather. Where it is wrong is a building where nobody goes up except an inspector twice a year and a wall-mounted fixed ladder does the same job for a fraction of the cost.

Choosing for Your Building

Ask how often the roof is accessed and who does it. Rare access with good wall exposure points at a fixed ladder. Regular access with equipment to carry points at a ship ladder, and regular access in weather points at an interior route with a hatch.

Whatever you choose, the access has to land somewhere safe. A ladder that puts a worker onto a roof with no rail and a fall hazard two feet away has only moved the problem.

We stock fixed and portable roof access ladders in Rowlett and can talk through which option suits the building you have rather than the one in the catalog.

Getting the Route Right

Access decisions last the life of the building. Deciding how often the roof gets visited is the question that answers the rest.

Tell us the building and the frequency and we will point you at the option that fits the maintenance reality, not just the drawing.

Everything ships from 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, and local crews can pick up the same day. Call 972-331-1090 and we will tell you what is on the floor right now.