Find A DIY Safety Guide For Emergency Roof And Gutter Repairs

| Tuesday, April 19, 2011
By Archie Campbell


A DIY safety guide for emergency roof and gutter repairs can be found on the internet and in home repair books. Roofing tasks are judged to be the most dangerous of all projects, which is pretty scary when you remember electricity and the risks it might pose.

If getting two or three stories up makes you nervous when you are just thinking about it, you might want to turn the job over to a professional who will have all the tools and the expertise to do the job well. Some things, like gutter cleaning or re-hanging, might happen so often that you choose to take care of them yourself, or finances might make DIY the only option.

One of the first things is to consider the word 'emergency' from a roofer's perspective. The weather must cooperate, being dry and without winds strong enough to blow you around or make it hard to swing materials into place. When it is raining, icy, or under snow, your housetop will just have to wait. If it really can't, then call for professional help.

Once the weather is dry and the wind has died down, you can get started. While waiting for the right conditions, plan out the project. List all the tools you need, take what measurements you can from the ground, and make sure you have the safety equipment to do the job without injuring yourself. Know what you are going to do in the order you are going to do it to eliminate extra trips up and down and impulsive decisions while working.

Safety gear starts with tough gloves and protective goggles. There is no sense in saving money by risking your neck on the housetop and having to go to the emergency room because you got a shard of metal of a piece of old shingle in your eye. Gloves will protect you from jagged edges (which come with plastic as well as metal), raised nails, and splintered wood.

Many homeowners never consider wearing a safety harness, but this is the one thing that can save you if you do fall off the ladder or the housetop. No one plans to slip off, but severe injury or death are the probable consequences of doing just that. Get a well-fitting harness and figure out a strong anchor for the rope that is attached and set at the proper length to keep you in position. A ladder laid on the roof for extra security should be strongly secured to some sturdy object on the other side of the house, like a tree or the railing of your deck.

Wearing a tool belt with everything you need will ensure that you have not left needed things on the ground or out of reach. It also means you can have both hands free when you need to put things into place or move yourself around up there. If you don't have a tool belt, you can put everything in a bucket.

Finally, get a partner for any job that has an element of danger. They can help or at least hold the ladder, fetch and carry, and get help if necessary. A DIY safety guide for emergency roof and gutter repair always says: 'Never work alone'.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment