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Walkway on roofs

On all buildings, the roof step/roof ladder and/or walkway shall always serve as an access route to devices on the roof requiring servicing and maintenance. This is if the roof pitch is greater than 6 degrees or the roof is made of a slippery surface layer Even at low inclines, a roof may be slippery when one walks on it. Slippery materials particularly include stainless steel sheet metal, aluzinc and felt roofs. Snow, frost and ice, damp surfaces or leaves substantially lower the friction between shoes and the walking surface. If devices are to be reached in these situations, a walkway must be in place. and vertical drop Even at low inclines, a roof may be slippery when one walks on it. Slippery materials particularly include stainless steel sheet metal, aluzinc and felt roofs. Snow, frost and ice, damp surfaces or leaves substantially lower the friction between shoes and the walking surface. If devices are to be reached in these situations, a walkway must be in place. exceeds 2 metres.

 

Access route requirements

Roof ladders and walkways must satisfy SS-EN 12951 and SS-EN 512 Class 2, respectively, which means that they can serve as anchoring points for personal fall protection. They shall furthermore have a minimum width of 350 mm and have turned-up edges. Individual roof steps that comply with type approval from SITAC/SP (Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning) may be used on small houses with a façade height of a maximum of 4 metres and a maximum roof pitch of 45 degrees. Individual roof steps must not be used as anchor points for personal fall protection.

Remember that

Lateral, horizontal, vertical or diagonal distances between two parts in an access route must not exceed 450 mm. This corresponds to a “step measurement” of approximately 600 mm.

Access routes must not be placed closer to a roof edge, gable etc. than 1 m as taken from the outside of the access route unless there is a protective rail installed.

Lateral lean +/- 3 degrees.

Access routes must have a clearance of 700 mm. This means that it is not permitted to place the walkway/ladder more than 350 mm closer to a wall or other obstacle as measured from the middle of the roof ladder.

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