Most situations in which you are dealing with the roof on your house you will need to be on the roof itself. You will no doubt understand that a pitched roof is not exactly the safest of places to be, as they are both high up and sloped, so it is essential that you are aware of the safety implications that come with getting up on the roof. Be sure to have a look over the following safety tips and tricks to ensure that you are never in danger whilst you are getting these things sorted out.
1. Always ensure that you are not working on your own. The fact of the matter is, no matter how safe you are being, bad things happen. You may well be as careful as you can, but if a tile happens to break, or a sudden gust of wind takes you by surprise, you may well fall. Even if you don;t fall to the ground, you can seriously injure yourself, and that means that you will need help. Ensure that you are never in a position where you will end up stuck for long without attention. Should you be doing major work you will likely have someone on the job with you, but even if it is just another family member inside the house who would hear your shouts, or a neighbor who is within earshot, you need to be sure that you are not on your own in case something happens. A workmate will be able to secure ladders and help to ensure that all aspects of safety are adhered to when you are going through the process of attending to your roof.
2. Wear rubber soled shoes or boots. This is an obvious one, but you need to be sure that you are wearing the right footwear, as even in dry conditions, a pitched roof will not exactly be a sturdy place to stand. You will need to ensure that the soles of your shoes or boots are grippy and will stand up to the pressure that you put them under. Wear gloves whilst working as well, as sudden pain may cause you to lose your footing fatally, and gloves can protect your hands whilst you work, avoiding this.
3. Choose the right weather. When you have a leak in your roof, don’t go and try to fix it whilst it is raining! Bad weather is not a great environment to work on a tall or steep surface, as the rain will make things slippery, as well as reducing visibility, and hard wind will mean that it is more difficult to stay stable. Choose clement weather for all of your roofing activities, and if it starts to drizzle or get gusty, move off of the roof, preferably having put a tarpaulin over the areas that you have exposed if you have.
4. Use roof scaffolds or support boards. Whilst a DIY home improver will not want to buy thousands of pounds worth of safety equipment for one job, a difficult to reach place, or a longer task may require you to be up there for a while. If this is the case, you will need to be able to get comfortable up there, and that may well mean that you need roof jacks, boards or even scaffold. Roof jacks can be bought form a hardware shop, and boards can be made form plywood, and will give you a place from which to sit and work safely. If you think that you need any sort of elaborate scaffolding system, then it is likely time to call in the professionals! Battersea Handy Man Services
