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Stepping off a ladder onto the roof

Oren wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Was "someone" the beneficiary? :-)

Reply to
Al Bundy
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Rueful Chuckle- I resemble that remark. I'm fat enough that class 1a is the only thing I will buy or use more than 3 feet off the ground. Sams had a good price on 24 foot, 50 bucks cheaper than the other place had 20 foot. 20 foot would be a lot easier to carry and spot, on this tall 1-story. Buy a decent ladder, or hire a service to clean the gutters. Stuff that can kill you, or take a long annoying time to heal up from, is NOT the place to cut corners.

aem sends....

Reply to
<aemeijers

Oren wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Agree, but also can&#39;t help thinking that whatever weight I am putting on it is towards the roof and above the fulcrum of the ladder on the roof edge. The result is more kickout force at the foot :-)

Reply to
Al Bundy

Ah, thank you. I was thinking of something to stabilize it at the ground level.

Reply to
Eigenvector

That&#39;s EXACTLY what I was thinking at the time I tried it. I felt like a little scaredy cat standing on that ladder wondering how painful it would be to jump down to the ground if the ladder fell while stepping on to the roof.

Reply to
Eigenvector

A good rule of thumb: With the ladder leaning on the house, stand on the ground with your toes against a ladder foot. Hold an arm out straight in front of you, parallel to the ground. If you fingers just touch the ladder, it is leaning at the proper angle. Otherwise, adjust the ladder angle and repeat.

Also be sure all four corners (two feet on the ground and two sides at the top) are firmly touching their surface without any rocking.

Finally, before climbing the ladder, test how sturdy it is. Be sure it doesn&#39;t rock or slide and the extension latches are properly set. Bounce a little on the first rung or two to confirm it stays put before climbing further.

Another safety note: Never lift the ladder up from the top (e.g. while you&#39;re on the roof)! People have killed themselves because they lift the ladder to move it or whatever, and release the extension latches. Then when they climb on to the ladder to start down, the ladder collapses.

Never take a ladder or its positioning for granted, whether you only use one once a year to clean your gutters, or you are a professional roofer. And look up for wires!

(Don&#39;t forget to tie your shoes and don&#39;t play with matches! :)

Reply to
Jim Taylor

Confidence on the ladder comes with time and experience. If you are inexperienced then you may never feel comfortable. Just be sure the ladder is safe by keeping its&#39; pitch shallow and the bottom secure, as others have said. Then there will be no risk of kicking the ladder down. Have a long enough ladder to extend several feet above the roofline so you have somthing to grab. These things will increase your confidence. After that you just put one foot in from of the other, always moving forward. You always want to lean forward, never back. Keep your eyes on the roofline and your where your next step will fall.

When I was on the roofing crew we often had to carry bundles of shingles and other material up the ladder. When you have a 70lb bundle on your shoulder your concentration is increased dramatically and you instinctively understand that you must move forward. Usually I can just step off onto the roof and carry the bundle to the ridge. On steeper roofs you can unload the bundle onto the roof or to a waiting helper. then it can be carried to the peak to be stacked. On steeper pitched roofs we would nail a board to the roof next to the ladder to give a more secure foothold or place to put the bundle. This only works if you are tearing off the roof anyway.

Reply to
Lawrence

Consider where you put the ladder. Falling doesn&#39;t hurt. It&#39;s when you STOP falling. Would you rather stop on concrete or stop on grass?

Sometimes I wonder how much it would hurt to jump off a roof onto grass (like when you get on the roof and something happens to the ladder).

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

I&#39;m worth more dead than alive (BG)

.....(you read my correction)..

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn&#39;t happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

Reply to
Oren

Part time Vegas show girls.. they steady the ladder...

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn&#39;t happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

Reply to
Oren

Don&#39;t step on the ladder above the roof. Step on the first step down. Having the ladder several feet above the roof means your hands can hold it and stabilize it as you step.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

That&#39;s the point of the ladder stabilizer. It moves the uppermost contact point inwards. It also keeps the ladder off of the gutter, is useful for other ladder applications, weighs very little, and keeps people from putting nails in their roofs.

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R

Reply to
RicodJour

Thank you very much for the clarification, I initially misinterpreted what you said about "ladder stabilizer" Now that I&#39;ve seen it I totally understand how that would help.

Reply to
Eigenvector

You&#39;re welcome.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

My newest ladder has flared legs/feet on both ends; not like the picture, but the same idea.

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn&#39;t happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

Reply to
Oren

Not really. The wider stance is more stable on the ground, and more stable leaning against a wall, but it doesn&#39;t make it any more stable when you&#39;re climbing onto a roof.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

I know a unfortunate fellow that fell off a 3rd story roof:( He fell and hit concrete, with no one around he dragged himself inside and called 911. He broke his back and was bleeding pretty bad, left blood trail on ground.

He survived after missing near a year of work and lots of surgery and painful rehab.

supringisly he still weorks on his home, painted it again this summer.

he lost soi much income being a project manager for building the pittsburgh airport his home will never recoop the money let alone the pain......

If I were him I would make the outside no maintence he sands and strips it constantly.

complete waste of effort if you ask me.

Reply to
hallerb

My 2x4 triangle works exactly the same way and costs nothing. :)

Reply to
bobjones

Beats the hell out of me. I tried to go up on my roof to fix a piece of trim that had come loose, but I couldn&#39;t do it. I simply couldn&#39;t get my foot to go up on the roof. I had to ask a friend to do it. When he did he disturbed some bees that were nesting under the molding; so there he is running across the roof flailing his arms around, and I can&#39;t even get up there. I felt so so, well I&#39;m sure you know how I felt.

Mind you, I have climbed 1,000&#39; cliffs in Yosemite, and been sky diving and hang gliding; but I can&#39;t go up on my roof.

Good luck; if you figure something out, let me know.

Reply to
Toller

Actually you do sometimes need to do this- but of course use a rope or something to connect the two sections. I have to do this to get from

1st floor to 2nd floor roof(ie haul ladder up), then lower ladder down again when going down.

Well said. I try to remind myself that my first concern is to stay alive, job is only #2.

Reply to
Sev

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