Roofing tools: names, pictures and what each one is used for

Getting up there, which is the whole risk

Falls from height cause more serious injuries in roofing than everything else combined, and almost all of them happen at heights people considered manageable. A single storey roof is high enough to break a back.

So the honest first question is whether you should be on the roof at all. Work you can do from a tower or a scaffold with edge protection is reasonable. Work that involves standing on a pitch, near a gutter edge, or on anything wet, brittle or fragile is professional work, and no tool on this page changes that.

If you do go up, the rule is that a ladder is for access and not for working from. Once both hands are busy, you need a platform.

Scaffold or tower with edge protection

Anything more than a quick look wants a proper platform with a guardrail. That is what stops a slip becoming a fall.

A ladder is access, not a workplace

Tied at the top, at about a one in four angle, extending a metre past the landing point, and you climb it rather than work from it.

Never walk on the covering

Slates crack, old tiles shear at the nib, and fibre cement sheets give way without warning. A roof ladder or crawl boards spread the load.

Fragile roofs need boards, not care

Rooflights, asbestos cement and thin sheeting will not take a person. Being careful is not a control measure.

Stop for weather

Wet slate is genuinely like ice, and wind takes a sheet out of your hands and you with it. Roofers come down for good reasons.

Nobody roofs alone

If a fall happens, someone has to be there to call for help. This is the one trade where working alone is a bad idea on its own.

The covering decides the toolkit

Roofing splits into distinct trades that share almost no hand tools. Knowing which one you are doing tells you what to buy.

Pitched tile and slate work is hand tool led: rippers, slate cutters, hammers and a lot of measuring. Flat roofing is heat and adhesive led: torches, rollers and seam tools. Lead and flashing is a craft of its own with dressers, bossing sticks and hardwood tools that you cannot substitute with steel.

Slate wants cutting and holing tools

A slate cutter, a holing tool and a ripper. Slate is worked cold and split rather than sawn, and a saw shatters it.

Tile wants a hammer, a cutter and gauges

Concrete and clay tiles are cut with a disc or a tile cutter and hung to a gauge. Batten spacing is the whole accuracy.

Flat roofing wants heat and rollers

Torch on felt, EPDM or GRP each have their own kit. Heat work on a roof needs a fire plan, not just an extinguisher.

Lead wants wood, not steel

Lead is dressed with hardwood tools that shape it without cutting or thinning it. Steel tools tear it.

Every covering needs flashing tools

Water gets in at junctions, not in the middle of a roof. Flashings and their tools are where the leaks are decided.

Where roofs actually leak

Almost no roof leaks through the middle of a sound covering. Leaks happen at edges, junctions and penetrations: chimneys, valleys, abutments, vents and gutters.

That is why the fiddly detailing tools matter more than the big ones. A perfectly tiled roof with a badly dressed chimney flashing leaks, and the wet patch usually appears a long way from the actual fault.

Chimneys and abutments first

Where a roof meets a vertical wall is the most common failure. Stepped flashing into raked joints, not mortar smeared over the top.

Valleys carry the most water

Two roof planes drain into one line, so a valley handles far more water than any other part and fails hardest when wrong.

Mortar is not a waterproof detail

Mortar fillets crack within a few winters. Anywhere a fillet is doing flashing's job, that is the next leak.

Check the gutters before the roof

A blocked or back falling gutter overflows against the wall and gets blamed on the roof. Cheapest thing to rule out first.

Water travels before it drips

It runs along battens and rafters, so the stain inside is rarely under the hole. Trace it uphill.

What to buy first, in order

Stage one: access and protection

A roof ladder, crawl boards, a hard hat, gloves, safety boots with grip, knee pads and eye protection. Plus a tarpaulin and battens, because an open roof and rain is the emergency you must be ready for.

Stage two: stripping and repair

A slate ripper, a claw hammer, a wrecking bar, a bolster, a bucket on a rope and rubble sacks. This covers finding and fixing a fault.

Stage three: recovering a pitch

A slate cutter and holing tool or a tile cutter, a roofing hammer, a chalk line, a gauge rod, a felt knife, a nail bag and a lot of clips and nails.

Stage four: lead and flat work

Lead dressers, a bossing stick, a chase wedge and a lead knife. For flat roofs, a torch and roller, or a GRP kit, and a fire watch plan.

Mistakes that cause leaks or falls

Working off a ladder with both hands busy

The single most common cause of a roofing fall. The moment you need two hands, you need a platform.

Walking on the covering

Cracked slates and sheared tile nibs leak months later, so the damage is invisible on the day you cause it.

Mortar fillets instead of flashings

They look tidy and crack within a few winters. Every mortar fillet on a roof is a leak with a delay on it.

Nailing slates too tight

A slate needs to hang and move slightly. Nailed hard it cracks around the hole at the first thermal movement.

Wrong nails

Steel nails in a damp roof rust away and the covering slides off in twenty years. Copper or aluminium for slate, and it matters.

Getting the gauge wrong

Batten spacing sets the headlap. Too wide and the roof leaks under wind driven rain even though every tile is intact.

Stripping more than you can cover

Weather turns. Strip only what you can make watertight the same day, and have the tarpaulin ready before you start.

Looking after roofing tools

Everything on a lanyard or in a bag

A dropped tool from roof height is lethal to whoever is below and it is gone. Tethered, or in a closed bag.

Keep lead tools clean and dry

Boxwood dressers pick up grit which then scores the lead. A wipe, and never left out overnight.

Dry steel tools the same day

Roofing tools get rained on and then live in a van. A wipe with an oily rag is the difference between five years and twenty.

Check the roof ladder's wheels and hook

The wheels let it run up the slope and the hook is what holds it at the ridge. Both are safety critical and both wear.

Sharpen the slate cutter

A blunt cutter crushes the edge instead of shearing it, so slates break. It is a shearing edge and it needs to stay one.

Inspect harnesses and replace on date

Webbing degrades in sunlight whether used or not. There is a date on it, and it is not advisory.

Frequently asked questions

What roofing tools do I need to start?

Safe access first: a roof ladder, crawl boards, a hard hat, gripping boots, gloves and eye protection, plus a tarpaulin and battens for weather. Then a slate ripper, a claw hammer, a wrecking bar and a bucket on a rope covers finding and fixing most faults.

Is roofing work I should do myself?

Small repairs reachable from a tower or scaffold with edge protection are reasonable. Anything that means standing on a pitch, working near a gutter edge, or being on a wet or fragile roof is professional work, because falls from single storey height are enough to cause permanent injury.

Can I walk on my roof?

Not on the covering. Slates crack, older tiles shear at the nib and fibre cement sheets fail without warning, and the damage often only leaks months later. Use a roof ladder or crawl boards to spread your weight across the structure.

What is a slate ripper used for?

Removing a broken slate without disturbing the ones around it. The thin blade slides up under the slate, hooks the fixing nail, and shears it with a downward blow. There is no other way to do it from outside.

What is the difference between a roof ladder and a normal ladder?

A roof ladder has wheels so it can be pushed up the slope from the gutter, and a hook that goes over the ridge to hold it. It then lies on the roof and spreads your weight, where a normal ladder would concentrate it and slide.

Why do roofs leak at chimneys rather than in the middle?

Because the middle of a sound covering sheds water easily. Leaks happen at junctions and penetrations where two surfaces meet, and those need correctly dressed flashings. A mortar fillet in place of a flashing is the most common cause.

Can I use mortar instead of lead flashing?

It is a temporary fix at best. Mortar fillets crack within a few winters because they cannot flex with the movement between roof and wall, and once cracked they channel water inwards. Stepped lead into raked joints is the proper detail.

What nails should I use for slates?

Copper or aluminium. Steel nails, even galvanised ones, rust away in the damp environment under a roof, and eventually the slates slide off even though the slates themselves are sound. The nail is the part that fails.

How do I find the source of a roof leak?

Trace uphill from the stain, because water runs along battens and rafters before it drips. Check the gutters first since an overflowing gutter is often blamed on the roof, then check junctions, flashings and penetrations before the covering itself.

What tools are used for lead flashing?

Hardwood ones. Lead dressers, a bossing stick and a chase wedge shape lead without cutting or thinning it, which steel tools do. Add a lead knife for cutting and a plugging chisel for raking out the joint the flashing steps into.

What is a gauge rod for in roofing?

Setting the batten spacing so every course has the correct headlap. Get the gauge wrong and the roof leaks under wind driven rain even though every single tile is intact, which is a fault no amount of good workmanship elsewhere fixes.

How much of a roof should I strip at once?

Only what you can make watertight the same day, and have the tarpaulin and battens ready before you lift the first tile. An open roof and an overnight downpour causes more damage inside the building than the original fault ever did.

What tools do roofers carry on every job?

Access and safety equipment first, then a slate ripper, a hammer, snips, a trowel, a bolster, a gauge rod and a knife. That covers a repair visit. Anything beyond it, such as lead bossing tools or seaming tools, comes out only when that specific detail is being worked on.

What are the essential roofing tools needed for a repair rather than a new roof?

A ladder with a stand-off, a roof ladder, a slate ripper, replacement slate hooks or tingles, a hammer, a trowel and sealant. Most repairs are one slipped or cracked unit, or a failed flashing, and neither needs the stripping and setting out kit a new roof does.