10 Rooftop Safety Hazards for Homeowners
If you talk to roofers, then you will know that Toronto roofing projects rank among some of the trickiest tasks you can face as a homeowner and if you’re not careful, you may end up posing a lot of health and safety risks to not only yourself but to other people around you. One thing you can ensure you capitalize on is knowing all of the potential hazards you are most likely going to face when working on your rooftops and working out the ways with which you can avoid them.
So, here are 10 lessons you can learn about common rooftop hazards and possibly how to avoid them.
- Stability of your roof
In cases where you have an unstable roof, you shouldn’t risk getting on top there as the risks of the roof collapsing with you on it from all the pressure can increase significantly and end up posing you and anyone around a lot of danger. Ensure you check the integrity of your roof before you climb it and ensure it is strong enough to hold you and possibly even your tools.
- Placement of the ladder
You may not know this yet, but most of the roof-related accidents that occur happen as a result of a ladder placed in the wrong manner, wrong position, or place. You must always ensure that the ladder feet are secure enough for you to climb and the top of the ladder is also tied to the roof whenever possible.
- Weather conditions
In some cases, you may find that the shingles of your roof are very slippery especially from the snow or rain which can end up making it extremely risky to walk on the rooftops. And you may end up being seriously injured if you fall down all the way from your roof.
- Forgetting where the edge is
You may think this is a dumb mistake but it’s not that hard to get so caught up with the roof repairs that you forget where the roof edge is and end up going over it and falling down injuring yourself in the process. This can even happen to some of the most skilled professionals, so it’s not only restricted to amateurs.
- Holes in the roof
Failing to check for any weak spots and holes in your rooftops may also end up causing you a lot. You may end up stepping on very weak points and end up falling through your roof or walking on areas that haven’t been covered up.
- Improper training
With little to no training at all on how to repair roofs, you may be heading on a very dangerous path by climbing on your rooftops in an attempt to try and fix it. You, at least, need to know about all the safety measures and precautions to take before you climb up there.
- Improper use of equipment
You may have all the necessary equipment needed for repairing your roof but none of that will help you if you have no clue about how to use any of them. you may even end up causing more harm to the roof or to yourself in the proves.
- Poor line of site
Obstacles like chimneys or ridge vents can sometimes block your line of sight and if you’re not careful, you may even end up sliding of falling off the edge of the roof.
- Pitch of the roof
Roofs with steeper pitches need to be handled even more carefully and cautiously as you stand a much higher chance of falling off of them than in the flat roofs.
- Split level roofing
Split level roofing poses higher chances of you falling off from the side since the areas rarely ever have any kind of barrier set on them.