Why a roofer does not just step onto a ladder

Reading a quote, you sometimes find a line for scaffolding or fall protection on a repair that only takes a short while. It feels like overhead. It is exactly the opposite: it is the line that explains why this work is done professionally.

The figures behind that choice are stark. Dutch safety institute VeiligheidNL records roughly 5,700 accidents with portable climbing equipment treated at accident and emergency each year. According to product safety authority NVWA, 70% of accidents involved a fall from or with a ladder and 30% a fall from or with a household step stool. The Dutch labour authority Arboportaal notes that falling from height still ranks first among workplace accidents.

The threshold also sits lower than people sense. Arboportaal states on measures against fall risk: above 2.50 metres these are legally required, but below 2.50 metres the employer must also take measures if there is a risk of falling. The gutter of an ordinary house sits well above that — and on a pitched roof surface sliding is added to the equation, which a ladder does nothing about.

For you as the client there are two practical consequences. One: a quote without a line for safe working at height is not a cheaper quote, but a less complete one. Two: what you want to know about the state of your roof does not require a ladder. A roof inspection delivers photographs of the places you cannot reach for € 150-350, and only then do you know whether it is repair work at € 150-500 or something larger. Every guide rate is in the price index.