Steps built in to roof tiles

[peekay]

Hello. 

 

We are building a house that is a large dormer bungalow with a flat roof section on the top. Barn hips/snipped gables either end. This means that there is no easy way to put a ladder up to get access to the flat roof section for cleaning/maintenance of the roofing and any solar panels. 

We decided to have an access rooflight to get to the flat roof section from within the house, but we spotted the solution in the photos below on lots of houses whilst recently in Germany. 

 

Maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing, but I can't seem to find what they are called, or any supplier in the UK. 

 

I have never even seen them on any UK roofs, but they seem like a decent solution. Would they be permitted in a domestic setting?

 

 

[ProDave]

The other neat thing there in the last picture is a roof tile with a "tunnel" built in to allow the satellite cable to enter the roof space.  Would work equally well for solar PV cables.

 

There are a few houses around here that seem to have a roof ladder permanently left on the roof to get up to a chimney.

[joe90]

I have never seen those but I question how often would you need to get on the roof? Once a year at most? So why not use a roof ladder? I would walk up a roof of that slope (unless slates).

[peekay]

28 minutes ago, joe90 said:

I have never seen those but I question how often would you need to get on the roof? Once a year at most? So why not use a roof ladder? I would walk up a roof of that slope (unless slates).

 

Probably only once a year or so, but there is a great view from the flat roof section, so will find excuses to go up there more often if access is easier.

 

We do not have a ridge between the pitched and flat sections, so we don't have anything to hook a roof ladder up to.

 

[ToughButterCup]

47 minutes ago, joe90 said:

I have never seen those but I question how often would you need to get on the roof? 

 

Easy @joe90. Just been to Berlin - family stuff, and asked that very question ....

 

The steps are put in for Chimney Sweeps. Notice each of the images above lead to the chimney.

So I asked the obvious question - and was told that a chimney swept from below and from above was '...much cleaner...'  And then asked the next obvious question - which was met with a shrug. The other reason for the steps (or sometimes built in hooks) was for areas which have high snowfall - and thus steep roof pitches. The hooks are also lined up across the roof such that the gap can be bridged by  scaffold board held in place on ladders which have small platforms on them.  And of course Health and Safety - my raised eyebrows were answered by " Well would you want your  chimney sweep dad to work on a dangerously steep roof?" 

As a small aside, Chimney Sweeps have to (by law)  sign off every woodburner  stove in Berlin. They sign off to say that the wood burner stove is working efficiently. And thus have a nice-little-side-hustle.

 

Einfach!

[G and J]

We don’t have either built in steps or a permanent roof ladder.  But the view from our ridge, across the fields, is something I’d sit and look at every day if I could.  Whenever I’m on the roof doing anything I’ll often sit on the ridge and just enjoy.

 

I do tend to be roped up mind, no point taking unnecessary chances, but I love those tile steps as that would make it quicker and easier and I could crab a rope to them as I go up.  Brilliant. 
 

So I want to know where I can buy them for a 40 degree slate roof.  That way I’ll be able to clean my solar pv every other sunny Tuesday morning. 😉 

[ToughButterCup]

9 minutes ago, G and J said:

...

So I want to know where I can buy them for a 40 degree slate roof.

...

 

I think you may have to import them. I very much hope I'm wrong. The Berlin part of my  family is coming over here soon (in a VW van) . Want some ?

If you want to do your own research they are called  '  Dachtritte ' (in Germany)  I think many of them have a mechanism for changing the angle of the tread ( because of the change of angle on many roofs.)

Here's a relevant (German) website

and these cost just over 100 euros - 

 

But I'm almost sure it will be cheaper easier and quicker to make your own - if you are that way inclined. 

[peekay]

1 hour ago, ToughButterCup said:

 

  if you are that way inclined

 

Very good!

[dpmiller]

Ebay and Amazon both do 'em, I ordered a couple of simple steel ones to use as occasional platforms when we were tiling. IIRC the vendors were mostly German and Polish?

[Dave Jones]

you want permanent scaffold on your roof ?

[peekay]

10 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

you want permanent scaffold on your roof ?

Not really, but a few discrete steps on a non visible bit of the roof might mean I don't need to get scaffold up at some point in the future.

 

I've scoured UK eBay and Amazon and don't seem to be able to find them. The only other places are EU sellers that don't explicitly say that they sell to the UK (I haven't emailed to check yet).

 

Another solution might be to fit a bracket between the roof tiles near the top in a similar way to solar panel mounts that would allow me to hook a ladder over it.

[joe90]

Google roof tile steps = https://www.creaton.com/products/protection-systems/roof-access-system