OG wrote:

As another question, "how safe is it to walk on the roof itself?"

Erm, that depends on the pitch of the roof, the type of tile, how good
the tile battens are, how heavy you are, and the shoes you are wearing!

When we had the TV aerial fixed a couple of years ago the guy used the
ladder to get onto the roof at gutter height and then walked up the tiles to
the chimney.

Hmm same here many years ago. Aerial installer simply walked up the
ridge of the hipped roof, then along the top ridge to the chimney.

I'd be concerned about 2 things, damage to the roof, but more significantly,
the risk of shoes losing grip and me ending as a jammy heap in the garden.

How many people here play the mountain goat on the tiles?

When I walked on the roof recently (mid loft conversion) all that
happened is about one in ten tiles broke! Probably not a problem if you
are built like a whippet though.

Hence if I need to venture onto the slope I lay a ladder along it with a
ridge hook on the top. A duck board would work also (long wide plank
with foot rails fixed to the surface every so often).

--
Cheers,

John.

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