There are several things to take into consideration when deciding whether or not you want to use a roof ladder to do work on your house.
Perhaps one of the first things to take a look at is your house itself and the area that you will be working on. How good is the condition of your house and your roof? Is it old? Is it slippery or does it have a steep slope? Is it weather worn or creaking and generally in bad condition? If so, you may want to instead consider the option of consulting with professionals and having them do the work for you. The difference between an inexperienced person and a professional who does it for a living and has hundreds of hours/roofs under their belt can be huge, and potentially even lifesaving.
If your roof is in relatively good condition and the job is not too difficult, then it may be viable to do the work yourself. In this case, you should educate yourself as much as possible about the job itself as well as how to use the ladder. Most importantly, you should NOT climb onto the ladder unless you have complete confidence in your sense of balance. If you have any doubts about your ability, then it simply is not worth it and you should instead call a professional.
Confidence in yourself and your abilities when you’re up working on your roof is very important. You need to be sure that you are capable of keeping your balance. If you’re second guessing yourself and your steps, then you are just asking for an accident. A fall from this type of ladder can be even worse than from a normal ladder, so you really do need to be positive that you’re up to the task before you climb onto the ladder and start the work.
Once you determine to do the job yourself, then you need an actual roof ladder. If you don’t have one, then you may want to look into buying one. If you plan to be doing this type of work more than once, then this may be worth it. If not, then you can elect to go and rent a ladder from a renting company. This is a great option if you don’t have further use for it or simply don’t have anywhere to store it. You can also purchase roof ladder hooks if you already have a stable ladder lying around somewhere. This will allow it to accomplish the same purpose.
The main concern is your safety. Under no circumstances should you attempt to use a non roofing ladder as a base to stand/crawl on. It’s simply way too dangerous, the ladder can easily slip or slide and then you have no balance and could find yourself catapulting down the roof and even straight off and onto the ground. Always keep safety as your main priority, and buy or rent or purchase ladder hooks. If you don’t have confidence, or don’t feel good about going on the ladder, then simply hire a professional to do the job for you.