A ladder that actually follows safety rules, I’m comfortable on. I’ve got several step ladders; all of them are the correct width, sit properly, etc.
The ones that I’m uncomfortable on? So many safety rules violations, it’s pretty much the list of safety rules. The most common ones are: wrong width of ladder, wrong width of steps, wrong angle, not affixed properly, wobbly.
Those rules aren’t there because someone wanted to waste paper, damnit!
Here’s what not to do.
Here’s what to do.
The sad thing is. Where I live there is always new construction and I don't think I've ever seen a ladder tied off. Or secured at the base.I’m all for saving a dollar but not at the expense of someone’s life.
In 1972 I realized that I was not really academically inclined. I left college and joined the Carpenter’s Union. I have been in the blue collar world ever since. I left the Carpenter’s union years ago because there was no steady work and I have been installing, servicing and programming commercial fire alarms for the last 38 years. I spent about half of yesterday on an eight foot step ladder pulling fire alarm wire across a room above the suspended ceiling.
Ladders, scissor lifts, boom lifts and scaffolding are just part of my life and have been for 44 years.
This here.
I had to venture up on the roof a few years ago. I scampered up like a squirrel, jumped on the roof, and took care of the business at hand without a spark of apprehension.
Getting back on the ladder was a different pair of undies. I realized I had to basically swing myself over open air to mount the ladder. I froze. I didn’t know if I had the plums to do it. I froze for a few minutes then endured a terror-filled 1.5 seconds as I made the transfer.
Haven’t been on the roof since.
mmm
Yeah, well maybe you could have made the wings a little more sturdy, DAD! (I’m not done with him…)
People who aren’t comfortable on ladders for whatever reason should stay off them. The exception would be people who are uncomfortable on ladders who want to become more comfortable on them.
Ladders are potentially hazardous tools. They need to be used properly to avoid injury.
Me, as long as I can reassure myself the ladder is secure I’m pretty comfortable going up and down them. Transitioning between a ladder and a roof is a bit more uncomfortable but I can do it if I feel the need for it.
This.
We have a guy we hired last year to clean out our gutters. I was asked last weekend to climb up and see if we should have him back now, or wait a year.
I was dreading doing the inspection by ladder, then thought of my drone. I charged it up and made a gutter-video. Turns out we can wait a year or two.
I don’t have any problem with ladders, but I do suffer from vertigo. This means I’m ok on a ladder, as long as it’s sturdy and I can always have one hand on it and/or am able to lean into it. Vertigo is a strange beast.
Since I was a child I have loved climbing things. I am very comfortable on a ladder, in fact probably too comfortable. I have done some things that in hindsight were pretty stupid considering the distance to the (hard) ground. I survived them all unscathed, but probably wouldn’t attempt them again. Maybe…
Funny you should mention it. My tower climbing safety certification just arrived in the mail. No, I don’t mind ladders.
When I was younger I was pretty fearless. I think we all where.
Not at 55, I’m very cautious of heights. I have a very good extension ladder but even if I have it on solid ground and just going up 8 feet I have my wife hold it.
I was a tree climbing idiot when I was a kid. Somewhere along the way though I developed a fear of heights. My house is a rancher and I don’t mind getting up on its roof, but that’s about as high as i want to go. I’m glad I don’t have a two story house.
The house came with a flagpole but the pulley at the top of it was broken when we moved in. I stuck a ladder up against the flagpole and replaced it myself. It was a bit shaky and that’s the last time I went up that high on a ladder. That was 20 years ago when we bought the house. I probably wouldn’t do it today.
I don’t like unprotected heights, so ladders sometimes qualify. When my inlaws were roofing their house, I stayed on the ground fetching stuff as needed. I’ve climbed enough to clean the gutters that were at 1st floor level, but the back of our house has a walk-out basement and there ain’t no way I’d go up 2 stories. Besides, I can hire someone to clean my gutters for around $100 - totally worth it!
Even in the house, I occasionally have problems with using the 2-step stool to change the lights in the ceiling fans, but that’s more related to the slight distortion my progressive lens glasses cause in my peripheral vision.
Bottom line, I can usually do what has to be done, but I’m not necessarily happy about it. And I’ve never been on our roof.
Yep. Remember a few years ago when we got multiple winters where we got 2-4’ of snow in less than two weeks on a number of occasions, and there were lots of stories of roof collapses? Our roof was spared that fate due to getting up on the damn thing and shoveling all the snow off. It took 2-4 hours every time, and I hate heights. But getting on the roof is a hell of a lot less scary than getting off. I only got off all by myself once after calling for someone to come hold the ladder for 10-15 minutes didn’t get a response. Terrifying.
However, I do like the aesthetics of ladders. I fully intend to do both this and this when I buy a house, for example.
There’s something about being attached to the ground that some people don’t like. People who are supposedly scared of heights are fine in an airplane…or balloon.
The only ladder I don’t like is when I have to go to the top of the big extension trestle ladder. I [del]know[/del] hope it’s not going anywhere, but still it’s a bit wobbly at the tippy-top. It primarily gets used when something gets stuck, which of course means a crowd watching you free the net &/or fix the flap.
a ladder to a 2nd story is not something you should climb if you’re not familiar with it. The contractor in the op’s example has forgotten what it was like to do this as a novice and should have apologized for suggesting it.
Having said that I would give my male buddies grief over this because they’re all do-it-yourselfers" and this would be a man-card revocation under that category.
Having said THAT I’m not fond of heights. I’ve had to work on my 2nd story roof and there were spots where I couldn’t secure the ladder to my satisfaction. I’ve fallen off ladders before and doing it from a 2 story house is to be avoided at all costs. And on a related note, leather pouches are worth their weight in gold when carrying nails.
Yeah, “necessary evil.” I don’t mind indoor ladders and such (and have some good, sturdy ones) but outdoor, and up to gutters, and onto roofs… too many bad experiences and near misses to do anything but shudder.
My California houses were typical low, flat types with the occasional second story poking up. I hated the transition onto and off of the roof, but was generally comfortable walking around and doing work up there. My stupidest move was one summer morning, scooting up a rickety ladder in nothing but shorts to… adjust an antenna, I think. It wasn’t long before I realized it was already hotter than hell up there, and my feet were burning and the sun was hot on my shoulders already (at like 10 a.m.) I went to go back down and the ladder sagged into a soft spot, just enough that I could tell it was going to sink in and then fall from the eave to the wall when I put my full weight on it. So I jumped up and down on the roof and hollered down… to windows closed for the AC and a TV going full blast. I finally had to jump or fry, and sure enough the ladder dropped in and threw me to the ground. Fortunately I wasn’t hurt other than a scrape, but I was SO pissed I wanted to throw the TV in the trash.
Now I’m in one of those towering northeastern colonials, and one look at the weeds growing in the gutters (the prior owners had put that foam shit in there) was enough to call my handy guy. I had to run a new AC control wire, and while I could run it through the attic and then staple it up about ten feet from the compressor, the additional ten feet on my BIG ladder was too sway-ey for me… so the handy guy finished it.
So, generally, age weight and timidity mean I’m done with ladders over about six feet. Having fallen down the last three basement steps this weekend and screwed up my knee, I’m even less inclined. (All muscle injury, fortunately, but it’s an impressively swollen and bruised sight.)
We need personal anti-grav units, any time now, thanks.
Can you get to Monaco this weekend?
Of couse the exhaust might melt the shingles.
No problem on the ladder, but exiting and more so entering from the roof wigs me out. Did not bother me when I was younger.
Brian
Oh the tales I could tell …
30 years up and down ladders you get used to it. The key is making sure it’s set correctly, the feet level, proper angle, prayer, no horse play. Just the other day I missed a step and fell maybe five feet, no big deal. I was carrying some material down off the roof which is a big no-no. It was stupid because I had someone I could have handed the stuff to. I’ve had the feet slid out on me before, so either stakes or tie it to something. Tying off the top is OSHA regulations I believe, though I’ve never had a problem there.
60 foot triple extension ladder was … shaky … that had me chewing my lower lip.
