A ladder hook is a hook fitted to the top end of a ladder that grips over the ridge or onto a roof anchor, so the ladder cannot slide down or tip sideways on a pitched roof. The hook secures the ladder at the only point where that is possible on a roof slope: the top.
Do not confuse it with a roof anchor (or safety roof hook), which is fixed to the roof structure itself and provides a point from which a ladder or a fall arrest system can be hung.
Types
- Ridge hook — a curved bracket that hooks over the ridge tile; usually with wheels so the ladder can be rolled up over the tiles and hooked over the ridge at the top
- Roof ladder hook — a fixed part of a roof ladder, by which the ladder grips the ridge
- Wall or gutter bracket — secures the ladder against sideways movement at the gutter or wall; not strictly a ladder hook, but the same function
Using it safely
- Roll the ladder up on its wheels — place the hook wheels-down on the tiles, push it up, and only turn it over the ridge once the hook has cleared it
- Check the ridge tile — a loose or cracked ridge tile carries nothing. If the ridge is only bedded in mortar and is already old, choose another arrangement
- Secure the foot as well — the hook prevents sliding at the top, not the ladder swinging at the bottom
- Spread the load — never walk directly on the tiles; use a roof ladder or a crawl board, otherwise tiles break and the structure beneath is damaged
- Do not treat the hook as your only protection — for roof work at height, a scaffold with edge protection or a personal fall arrest system with a sound anchor point remains the standard
When a ladder hook is not enough
If you are working on the roof for more than a short spell, or the roof slope is more than a few metres up, a ladder with a hook is not an adequate working place. In that case use a mobile tower, a scaffold with edge protection, or a powered access platform. For work on a chimney or a dormer at height that is in practice almost always the safest and quickest choice.
Related terms
- Roof anchor
- Roof ladder
- Ridge tile
- Mobile tower
- Fall protection
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