How one invention could transform rooftop access

By Jesse Sanchez.

This innovative solution offers roofers a smarter, safer way onto residential roofs — and it’s turning heads across the industry.

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Heath Hicks, co-inventor of The Catch-All system and founder of Afco Roofing, to explore a game-changing new product: the Roof Step. Heath, whose reputation for practical innovation in the roofing industry continues to grow, outlined how the product is addressing one of the most dangerous points of a roofing job — getting on and off the roof.

“Every day, across the world, roofers are falling off the roof while getting on and off the ladder,” Heath said. “Depending on the year, somewhere around between six hundred and a thousand homeowners a year die at their house. Hanging lights, cleaning gutters, you know, looking at leaks.”

It’s a sobering statistic and one that represents the motivation behind the Roof Step — a permanent access point installed during roof installation that gives both contractors and homeowners a safer foothold when ascending or descending a roof.

Designed to install at the valley corner above a gutter, the Roof Step includes a secure platform and ladder hooks. It blends seamlessly with home exteriors, coming in an array of colors commonly matching to trim or gutters. “It’s not an eyesore,” Heath stated. “It looks like it’s designed to be a decorative part of the roofing system.”

The product isn’t just about safety — it’s also about marketing and service. Heath highlighted its value as a business differentiator. He shared, “You could just offer it as an upgrade to that yearly contract to install the roof step so that we can get up and down safely. It’ll be here for as long as your home is here and you’ll have it for everybody to use, yourself included.”

According to Heath, contractors at the recent International Roofing Expo (IRE) showed immediate interest, driven not only by safety considerations but also by the opportunity to add value and differentiate their offerings. Heath noted, “We had a big display there. You could see it and try it out and step up on it.”  

Despite some initial skepticism about aesthetics, feedback has been largely positive. “Everyone that we’ve shown it to, whether in person or in videos and some of our testing scenarios everyone’s says, yeah, that seems like a really great idea,” Heath shared.

As the industry continues to grapple with safety concerns, Heath believes the Roof Step could play a significant role in shifting mindsets — especially in residential work where OSHA oversight is limited. He added, “We want to change that mindset and, you know, provide every home with a safer access point than what exists right now.”

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about the Roof Step and other new safety-driven products from The Catch-All!