Ladder Work and Roof Access Safety Standard
Purpose
This standard gets a tech to a second-story fascia line or a roof edge and back down without adding a fall, a chemical burn, or a customer property claim to the ticket. A pressure-washing ladder job is not a generic ladder job: the tech is setting up on a surface they are about to wet, climbing while carrying a live chemical line, and working a roof that the wash itself is making slicker by the minute. Skip the site-specific steps below and the failure is not a rare freak accident, it is the predictable one: feet skate on a soap film the ladder itself is standing in, or a tech overreaches by two feet to finish a gutter run instead of climbing down and resetting.
Scope
Covers ground-based and ladder-based access, up through a second-story eave, for exterior residential and light-commercial washing using belt-drive equipment and softwash skids in the 4 to 8 GPM class. The default method for roof and gutter-line softwash application is from the ladder or the ground with an extension wand, not from the roof surface itself.
It does not cover any task where the tech's feet actually leave the ladder and land on a roof or elevated platform; that escalation, its trigger conditions, and its fall-arrest or restraint requirements belong to the Fall Protection for Second-Story and Roof Work SOP. It does not cover wand or hose injection injuries (the High-Pressure Injection Injury Response Standard) or work within clearance of overhead lines (the Working Near Overhead Power Lines Standard). The general theory of what makes a wet job site slick underfoot, for the tech's boots and for bystanders, belongs to the Wet Surface Slip Hazard reference; this SOP only covers where that theory applies to a ladder's own footprint.
Roles and the handoff between them
| Role | What they own | What they hand off |
|---|---|---|
| Office at booking | Roof pitch, height, and condition noted from the estimate photos or a phone description; any steep or second-story roof flagged before dispatch | A ticket that already tells the tech what kind of access to expect |
| Technician | The ground survey, ladder selection and setup, the application method decision, and the go or no-go on any given approach point | A completed pass, or a documented reason the section was escalated or excluded |
| Lead tech or owner | Approval for any access that does not fit this SOP's default (no rinsed landing zone possible, no solid tie-off point) | A written call on how the section gets finished |
The procedure
Survey the roof and the site from the ground before the ladder comes off the truck. Name the slope class (walkable under about 4-in-12, steep above it), the roof material and its moss or algae load, the height of the tallest wash point, and any spots already wet from sprinklers or shade-side growth. Acceptance: slope class named, tallest point estimated to within about 2 feet, hazards logged on the ticket. Wrong looks like judging a roof "walkable" from its pitch alone while a heavy, shaded moss mat makes the actual surface far slicker than the slope suggests. Stop rule: any roof steeper than about 4-in-12, or any second-story eave, keeps this SOP's ground-or-ladder method as the plan for the whole visit; roof walking is off the table unless the Fall Protection SOP's escalation is separately triggered. Hazard: do this survey from the driveway or lawn, not from a ladder already climbed for a look.
Select and inspect the ladder for this specific site. Pull a ladder rated, per the Ladder Classification and Load Rating reference, with real margin over the tech's loaded weight, and check rails, rungs, locks, and feet before it leaves the ground. Acceptance: duty rating confirmed against loaded weight, pre-use check passed, feet clean and dry to the touch. Wrong looks like a ladder pulled straight off the rack with dried soap film still on the feet from the last job, which looks fine on inspection and skates the moment it touches a wet patch. Stop rule: any failed check swaps the ladder before setup, with no exception for a job that is "almost done anyway." Hazard: inspect on the ground with the ladder flat, before it is leaned against anything.
Rinse the landing zone, then set the ladder on the 4-to-1 rule. Rinse the exact patch of concrete, pavers, or decking where the feet will sit before setup, since dust, pollen film, and loose algae are what turn a wet surface into a lubricated one. Set base offset equal to the working height divided by four, level the feet with a leveler or a board on uneven ground, and extend the ladder at least 3 feet above the point of support. Acceptance: measured or paced 4-to-1 offset, feet on a rinsed patch that has stopped actively draining (not standing water), 3 feet of rail visible above the gutter line. Wrong looks like setting up on a patch that was rinsed thirty seconds ago and has not yet sheeted off, or leaning the top against the gutter itself instead of a fascia board or a confirmed stud. Stop rule: if the landing zone cannot be rinsed and drained within a few minutes, relocate the ladder to a different approach point rather than accepting a wet, undrained base. Hazard: chemical runoff sheeting down the wall during this rinse is a skin and eye splash hazard for whoever is standing under it; rinse from an angle, not straight overhead, and if that does not hold because wind carries drift back onto you anyway, then step clear of the runoff path and let the wall sheet dry before moving underneath it.
Tie off the top of the ladder before it takes any climbing load. Secure the top rail to a solid anchor, a rafter tail or a temporary screw eye set into structural wood, never the gutter itself, with a strap or rope near the top. Acceptance: the ladder does not shift laterally when pushed at the midpoint with the tech's own body weight from the ground. Wrong looks like tying to the gutter, which deforms under lean-load and lets the top walk sideways exactly when the tech reaches for the last foot of a run. Stop rule: no solid anchor point available (vinyl siding with no reachable rafter tail) means that section gets finished from a lower rung with an extension wand instead of a full climb to the eave. Hazard: this step is done from the base, hands only reaching the first few rungs.
Climb with three points of contact and stop the pass the moment your belt buckle passes the outside rail. Keep both hands free while ascending, clip tools and jugs rather than carrying them in a climbing hand, and reposition the ladder rather than reach past the rail line while applying chemical. Acceptance: belt buckle stays inside the rails for the entire pass. Wrong looks like leaning out to finish the last two feet of a fascia run instead of climbing down and moving the ladder one panel over. Stop rule: any reach that takes the buckle outside the rail line stops the pass immediately; climb down and reset. Hazard: chemical drift off a downward-angled wand at close range is an eye and inhalation hazard at head height on a ladder; keep the wand angle low and your face turned from the drift, and if that does not hold because a gust reverses the drift onto you anyway, then release the trigger, look away, and clear your eyes with clean rinse water before continuing the pass.
Rinse the rails and your own boots before descending, then re-check the base. A ladder that was dry on setup can be coated in runoff by the time the application pass is finished, and the same landing patch can have shifted under repeated weight. Acceptance: rails and rungs wiped or rinsed clear of chemical film, feet still seated on the drained patch from step 3. Wrong looks like descending on rails carrying the same soap film the roof just gave up, hands and boots slick at the same moment. Stop rule: if the base has shifted or water has pooled at the feet, stop on the ladder and get a second set of eyes before stepping down blind. Hazard: call out "coming down" before the last few rungs; a driveway with hose lines, buckets, and a customer's dog underfoot is a common landing-zone surprise.
The record this produces
The ticket carries the slope class and tallest point from step 1, the ladder ID and duty rating used, the tie-off anchor type, and any near-miss (a reach that crossed the rail line, a landing zone that had to be relocated). It also states plainly whether any roof surface was walked on this visit; a "no" here is what tells the lead the Fall Protection SOP was not needed, and a "yes" without that SOP's own record attached is a gap the next audit should catch.
Worked pass: a moss-heavy north face on a single-story ranch
The survey (step 1) finds an overall walkable pitch near 5-in-12, but the north-facing section is shaded most of the day and carries a heavy moss mat; the eave there paces out at 11 feet. Step 1 passes: slope class and hazard both logged, ground-application confirmed as the plan even though the pitch alone would allow walking elsewhere on the roof.
Step 2 passes: the shop's Type IA fiberglass 24-foot extension ladder checks out clean, feet dry.
Step 3: base offset computes to 11 divided by 4, about 2 feet 9 inches. The north-side walkway is rinsed, and given the shade it takes closer to two minutes than a few seconds to stop actively draining, but it gets there. Three feet of rail above the gutter is confirmed by the factory mark on the rail.
Step 4: a screw eye set into a visible rafter tail under the soffit vent takes the tie-off strap; the midpoint push test holds solid.
Step 5 fails first: partway through the pass, the tech reaches for a downspout leader about 3 feet past the ladder's current position rather than resetting, and the belt buckle crosses the rail. The stop rule applies immediately: the tech climbs down, moves the ladder one panel over, and finishes the leader from directly underneath it instead of reaching for it.
Step 6: rails rinsed clear, boots checked, the landing patch confirmed unshifted, and the descent called out to the ground crew before the last few rungs.
The ticket records the pitch and moss note, the ladder ID and tie-off anchor, one logged near-miss at step 5 corrected on the spot with no injury, and confirms no roof surface was walked.
References
- See related: Fall Protection for Second-Story and Roof Work (the escalation path when feet actually leave the ladder)
- See related: High-Pressure Injection Injury Response Standard
- See related: Working Near Overhead Power Lines Standard
- See related: Ladder Classification and Load Rating Reference (duty rating and sizing math)
- See related: Wet Surface Slip Hazard Reference (general theory of what a wash job site does to footing)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.23, portable and fixed ladders, general industry, in the edition referenced by the ladder's own compliance label
- ANSI/ASC A14.2 (portable metal ladders) and A14.5 (portable fiberglass ladders), current edition