It’s alright to want to do a bit of roofing or roof repair yourself, but at least try to be safe while doing it. The prospect of falling down a few yards and seriously hurting yourself, should not be very alluring to anyone. Do yourself – and you family – a favor, and read through these safety tips:
Scaffolding
The best way to prevent falling (or at least to reduce the damage from a fall) is to erect scaffolding around the perimeter of your roof. Of course, if you are only working on one side of the roof, don’t splash out on scaffolding for both sides, as it can be rather expensive to rent and have set up. It is best to leave the installation of larger scaffolding systems to professionals, especially if it needs to reach two stories high or more. You don’t want the whole thing to collapse underneath you, do you?
Roof Ladder
Scaffolding is number one for major roof repair, but for smaller things, you will be fine with a roof ladder. These are especially useful for roof pitches over 30 degrees, as roofs sloping that much get increasingly difficult to stand on. If your roof is clad in tiles or slate, then you should always use a ladder, since you need to distribute your weight a bit wider over the roof surface, and also because these roofing materials are not easy to stand on directly (they may even break under your weight).
Hard Hats And General Safety On The Construction Site
Since you may as well be working on the ground sometimes, while others are on the roof, it makes sense to wear protection for your head. Any time you enter the site, put it on. You never know when a roofing hammer comes down from above – or a roofing nailer. Speaking of tools: Practice good habits of not leaving various roofing tools perched insecurely somewhere on a batten or a ledge. Instead, force yourself to at least lay it flat on the scaffolding – if you have no way of fastening the tool in question to your belt or put it safely in a pocket.
When working with a pneumatic roofing nailer, you will often find that the air hose snags on something, preventing you from moving the nailer with you. If this catches you by surprise, you could tug yourself out of balance – which could lead to a dangerous situation. Always keep an eye on where the air hose is going, and never assume you can just pull it as hard as you like – it might be stuck somewhere.
The best advice though, is to not rush anything and not work when you are too tired – as this is usually a sure way for accidents to happen. And if you want to be completely safe, then don’t do the work at all – leave to professional roofing service instead.
