For all you guys and gals who like to climb onto roofs, I want to share a few stories about people I have known, and who had roof/ladder accidents.
For the record, I like to walk the roof whenever I’m able to, but recently have started taking more safety precautions. If I have to climb onto a 2nd story roof, I’ll only do it with someone I trust holding the ladder.
Case # 1:
A family friend of ours (my parents’ good friend) was paralized from the waist down, after the ladder he was on slipped, while he was hanging siding. This happened in the late 70’s. His wife took care of him for the rest of his life, while he either was in a wheel-chair or in bed.
Case # 2:
I friend of mine was installing solar panels on a roof, and fell from a height of two stories. The homeowner found him on the driveway, dead.
Case # 3:
A local roofing contractor, who I never met, but was well aware of (he sold and installed very pretty metal roofing in our area), slipped and fell of a roof, and passed away as a result.
Case # 4:
A young fellow, age 28, who was a child of very good friends of my wife and I (I remember when they adopted him - he was 3 at the time), was painting his house a few weeks ago. His girlfried found him next to the house, dead. Ladder accident.
Don’t take chances. No roof inspection is worth it and the typical inspection fee won’t even pay a quarter of the cost of the ambulance ride.
Get good roof footwear, focus on and fully examine your ladder set up prior to climbing it, stay off roofs that are too steep or covered in ice/snow. Don’t go up during lighting storms.
Get a drone or a camera pole. Clients will understand the limitations if you spell it out to them that it just isn’t safe to climb the roof.
In my early days inspecting I had a cavalier/in-my-face agent shame me for not climbing up on a moss covered 5:12 roof. I was still so young and inexperienced but I remember and love the answer I gave him - “Doug, sure I could get on that roof today and there’s a 99/100 chance I won’t fall. Unfortunately, I do this everyday and falling off a roof every few months isn’t good for my longevity in this profession.”
Although I utilize a pole camera and drone, my strong preference is walk the roof as long I can do it safely. However, having fallen from a ladder before, I have a distinct ingrained fear of ladders. So, quite the quandary… Here was my solution… I lug my heavy, strong, Little Giant ladder and attach this $50 stabilizer bar. Not only does it help keep the ladder from sliding down or slipping sideways (how most ladder accidents occur), it also keeps me from damaging the homeowner’s rain gutters. Highly recommended; my fear factor has dropped five fold.
I find that as I got older I am no longer as steady walking roofs as I used to be. I now utilize many different methods to keep the ladder from sliding. In addition, no matter the pitch, I use these to steady myself on the roof. Don’t rush or take any chances!
I’ve been meaning to say that when I have those eaves that are 10-11 feet, I add this werner stabilizer bar and what a difference. It takes all the instability out the ladder. I know it’s not centered here, I was on a different slope before and with the adjoining slope, and to keep the feet on concrete, I had to shift it over.
Anyway, it takes a sorta dodgy mount/dismount and takes the fear right out of it.
