With a roof leak, the ladder is more dangerous than the leak
The leak can wait until tomorrow. The fall cannot. What the accident figures say about just going up for a look.
When there is a leak, you want to get up there. Understandable: you want to know what is broken, preferably now. The problem is that the trip up is statistically more dangerous than the defect you are going to see.
The figures are not subtle. Dutch safety institute VeiligheidNL records roughly 5,700 accidents with portable climbing equipment treated at accident and emergency each year. Food and product safety authority NVWA additionally presents a CBS figure as an annual average: eight fatal falls from ladders, private and occupational combined. And according to the NVWA the cause lies more often in incorrect use than in faulty equipment — so it does not go wrong for people with bad kit, but for people just doing something quickly.
The height at which it turns serious is lower than instinct suggests. The Dutch labour authority Arboportaal states on measures against fall risk: above 2.50 metres these are legally required, but below 2.50 metres the employer must also take measures if there is a risk of falling. At home you are not an employer — the falling height is the same.
With a roof leak two further things worsen the sum: it is wet, and the weather is usually poor. A mossy or wet pitched roof offers no grip, and the spot you are looking for is rarely at the roof edge. So do from the ground what can be done — binoculars, photos of the façade, a look into the gutter from a stably placed ladder without reaching — and leave the rest to professional detection (€ 90-250). If it is coming through the ceiling, emergency help (€ 150-450) is the route; every guide rate is in the price index.