Safety Tips When Installing A Slate Roof

If you are a do-it-yourself person and like taking problems into your hands, you should be proud of yourself as few people like doing it. When you are installing a slate roof or any other type of roof you should be cautious about your safety as you don’t want to hurt yourself. Here are safety tips you should consider when you are fixing your roof:

Invest in good quality boots

Since you will be on your roof, you can easily slip. For you to avoid slipping and falling, you should wear steel-toed boots. In addition to protecting you from falling, the boots will also protect you from cuts, scratches, and puncture wounds.

Do you have sweaty feet? You should invest in good quality boots for sweaty feet. You should note that good quality boots don’t come cheap; therefore, you should be ready to part with a substantial amount.

Dress for the weather

How long will be working? If you plan to spend hours on your project, you should dress for the weather. As a rule of thumb, you should wear comfortable clothes. Are you working during the summer? You should protect yourself from suffering from sunburns and heat stroke by wearing long sleeves.

You should ensure that the outfits are lightweight and light colored. Also, remember to wear sunscreen and drink plenty of water.

If you will be working during the spring or fall, you should prepare yourself for frequent rains. To protect yourself, wear a rain slicker. You should avoid cotton clothes as cotton doesn’t dry fast. This means that when you wear it, you will be wet for long periods of time which will translate to reduced productivity.

The best way to tell the right outfit to wear is to check the weather. Regardless of the conditions, you should wear work gloves, safety glasses, and a hard hat to protect yourself.

Invest in a safety harness

Even when you are wearing high-quality steel-toed boots, you can easily slip and fall when working. For you to ensure that you don’t fall when you slip, you should wear a safety harness. There are plenty of harnesses in the market that you can go for. You only need to find the right one for your application.

For you to make the safety harness even more useful, consider combining it with toeholds. The temporary toeholds won’t damage your roof and they come in handy at helping you to maintain a good grip when working.

Clean the roof

Did you know cleaning the roof can protect you when working? When you clean the roof you get rid of dirt and debris that can increase your chances of slipping. When you get rid of dirt and debris you also make it easy for you to see the roof; therefore, you have an easy time fixing it. Before you start any project, you should go up there and get rid of any dirt.

Consider hearing protection devices

Will you be using any loud machines when handing the roofing project? You should highly consider protecting your hearing. The cool thing is that there are plenty of earplugs, headphones, and earmuffs in the market that you can use.

When buying the hearing protection devices, pay close attention to their size. As rule of thumb, you should go for pieces that maximally fit your ears.

Have an extension ladder in place

Plenty of accidents have been reported as DIYs fall off their ladders. The major mistake that they make is to use a ladder that is too short. Others don’t let the ladder touch their roofs.

For you to be safe, you should go for a ladder that is tall enough for your house. You should set it up on even ground and ensure that it’s angled correctly. For you to protect yourself from falling, consider adding roof brackets.

Experts even recommend that you install a board between them, creating a scaffolding that keeps you from falling in the event you slip.

Avoid working on a watery roof

Whenever there is precipitation, roofing contractors observe that you have high chances of slipping and getting hurt. When there is rain, snow, ice, dew, or any form of precipitation, you should avoid going up on the roof as you risk falling and hurting yourself. The best way of going about it is keeping the project on hold.