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dougger222
9 Posts |
 Posted - 02/01/2004 : 12:10:26
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My father has been a roofer for 35 years and has fallen two or three times. The last time he fell almost ten years ago we were papering a 7/12 in the rain (I know, kind of stupid). He fell off the front in a valley and landed on his elbow. It was only a story fall and he didn't get anything more than a bruise. His worse fall was two story's off a steep roof were he broke his ankle.
My oldest brother also a roofer fell from a story and half off the peak into a window well. He scraped his armpit and face on the concrete window well. He then broke the window with his hammer and climbed out the well through the basement and walked up stairs and yelled to our uncle also roofer, "I'm done for the day". The next day he pulled out the tape measure and it read 23 feet from the peak were he fell to the bottom of the window well. He was very lucky to walk away.
My brother was not as lucky as the next guy I know. He was green and was putting the ice and water shield on a 8/12 with no board. I guess he was facing the roof deck when the material gave out under him He fell a story and a half and landed straight footed down a slight hill. Both of his heels shattered.
My little brother while working for me a few years ago fell one story onto a Lull that was parked next to the garage. His ankle was in pain but returned to work 7 days later.
My one fall, off the ladder happened over 10 years ago. It was snowing lightly and someone placed the ladder on some wet shingles on the blacktop driveway. I was bringing a 7 foot section of valley up the ladder and right when I was about to step onto the roof the ladder slid out from under me. In a second I was on the ground on top of the ladder. My wrist hurt very badly. A visit to the doctor returned a "it's either sprained bad or there's a slight hair line fracture" It didn't feel right for two months.
Then there's my uncle who's been roofer for a good 15 years. It seems every couple years he falls off. The worst was when he fell from the ladder. His leg got caught in the rungs on the way down. His knee cap basicly shattered and he broke one of the bones below it. He was out for several months.
A couple months ago I was papering in a 10/12 and I slipped off the 2x4 board on the bottom. The framers had there walk plank set up on one piece of roof on the whole 60sq. roof, were I fell! I through the roll of ice and water I was carrying and fell a few feet onto the plank. This happened in a split second, I got lucky. |
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fkj
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2004 : 16:46:34
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| Almost learned this the hard way. Cougar paw soles absorb water. We all know to never walk on wet metal roof, but dry one with wet cougar paws is about as bad. |
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KileAnderson
USA
875 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2004 : 17:59:02
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I don't know if I've told this story on this site before but this past summer another adjuster and I were looking at a roof and the house had landscaping all around it so I set the ladder up in the driveway right in front of the carport. We finished our inspection and I was stepping onto the ladder when it just slipped right out from under me. I was able to throw myself flat on the roof with my left arm and leg hanging down over the gutter and my right arm and leg still on the roof. Luckily for me it wasn't a steep roof and I was able to pull my self back up and get to my feet.
So here we are, two adjusters on a roof, both of our cell phones in the truck and the ladder laying 8 feet below us in the driveway. We thought it would be no problem, just flag down a passing car and we would be fine. Well, after 20 minutes or so of being waved to from passing motorists we began to realize that this black roof in August is very warm. We needed some way to get down and fast because we were both drenched in sweat and had no water. So I surveyed the 4 courners of the house, found the piece of ground that I determined to be the softest, handed my compadre my wallet, and keys (wouldn't want to land on those) and quite reluctantly hung my feet over the edge, then with my arms lowered my self as far as I could and pushed away from the house. The ground no matter how green the grass over it is, is very hard. But I walked it off, and set the ladder up and was able to get my buddy off the roof. The reason the ladder slipped is because the driveway was blacktop and had recently been sealed and the heat from the sun had made it oily while we were on the roof.
Another lesson learned, and quite cheaply I might add. |
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dougger222
9 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2004 : 09:17:49
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A couple months ago I was stranded on a roof in a new developement. The wind took the ladder down off the garage side. There was a guy on a cell phone standing in his garage across the street. I waved at him for 10 minutes. I know he could see me but he never helped me out. Luckily I had a long 2x4 on the roof that I used to hook the ladder.
A couple times I've tied the lead air hose around myself and my brother and being he was lighter he would go down the side of the house!
I remember hearing about a roofer in the twin cities who died two years ago after falling 1.5 to 2 stories onto concrete.
How many of you were in the twin cities in 98 for all the hail damage to the Eagen Bloomington area? I heard there were $350,000,000 in roof and siding damage in two towns alone (Savage and Eagen?). We have had a few more hail storms since. Some homes have been roofed two times in five years due to hail. |
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ChuckDeaton
USA
373 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2004 : 10:51:14
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| 2 minutes for safety. |
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dougger222
9 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2004 : 13:01:10
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2 minutes for safety. ???
The ladder blew over in a split second. I guess I could have nailed it off to the trim board.
I've traveled up and down the ladder thousands of times, it does take one second for an accident to happen no doubt.
My brother was asking my uncle last winter (while roofing a ledge off the ladder which was just barely leaning on the trim board), "don't you worry about falling?" As soon as my brother left I guess the ladder slipped out from under him. He fell a short ways on his shoulder and it's been giving him problems ever since.
I wonder what the percentage of ladder accidents to actually falling off the roof is? |
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345
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2004 : 21:49:18
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| A friend told me a story about a person that he knew that fell off a one story bungalow and landed in some Nandena bushes. His body was impaled and punctured several times by the stiff trunks ( about one inch in diameter). He almost died, required extensive surgery, and never was the same afterwards. Please be careful!!! |
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jlombardo
USA
212 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 07:39:00
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| And all this for the tidy sum of $150.00.........Mike Fry did a double pull in VA for Isabelle and on the way down from the upper ridge, the ladder slid and he fell, bouncing on to the first level roof........still in therapy and still out of work......gee, only out of work since October......all because someone demanded a photo from the ridge ......for a wind claim...... |
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Cecil
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 07:51:17
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If your son or daughter was a adjuster would you want them to try that roof. If the answer is no, then you shouldn't try it either.
You notice that the danger zone is getting on or off the ladder most of the time. If you aren't comfortable with it, there's a reason. |
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Manmut
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 12:32:19
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Its not a cure-all, but hooking the ladder to the gutters with a bungee cord will often prevent the wind from blowing it over.
It took my three year old daughter to teach me a lesson about "tying off". I was fishing with her when she decided to throw her rod into the lake. Fortunately I was able to retrieve it before it sank, but now I tie an extremely long piece of fishing line to the rod. If and when she ever decides to do that again, I'll be able to pull it up using the fishing line. The light bulb went on that the same principal could be applied to my ladder. Use a pretty heavy amount of test though. The idea won't work if you snap the line! |
Patrick W. Laws |
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ChuckDeaton
USA
373 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 17:13:58
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2 minutes for safety. Look at the situation, think about the situation, do something to keep from falling.
Nandina bushes will kill you, so will barbecue grills, air conditioners and concrete. How many people always take their cell phone on the roof with them. Do you carry first aid supplies to include a tourniquet.
Dougger222 is lucky to be alive. |
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trader
USA
236 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 17:50:07
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dougger 222. Your history and your familys history qualify you to answer the following questions:
1.Is it necessary for an experienced adjuster to climb to the ridge to find wind or hail damage?
2. Or do you belive the same adjuster could reach the same conclusion with out then climb to the ridge? |
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dougger222
9 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2004 : 22:03:06
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dougger 222. Your history and your familys history qualify you to answer the following questions:
1.Is it necessary for an experienced adjuster to climb to the ridge to find wind or hail damage?
2. Or do you belive the same adjuster could reach the same conclusion with out then climb to the ridge?
1. Yes and no, if there is hail damage on the back of the house and the ladder is set up on the front I guess you would have to go to the peak to look at the back. If the ladder was tall enough it could be set up on the back of the home however. But for wind damage I would just walk around to the back side of the house and look from the ground. A pair of binoculars will show any missing shingles.
I get the same problem with builders from time to time. They expect me to roof when it's raining or snowing or when the roof is covered in a layer of ice. They at times don't seem to care about my well being and safety.
Here is a story why I'm really lucky to be alive!
About 9 or 10 years ago I was working on a peice of roof that had been covered in a 1 inch layer of ice. My father told me to tear off the paper and repaper the peice in, no problem. Well, I was on my last row of papering when my left foot stepped on the 3 foot wide area that had been shingled the day before. My body instantly layed flat to the roof and I was sliding down at a very rapid rate. I yelled and almost when my feet were about to go over my father grabbed my overhauls and pulled me to safety. The area I would have fallen was about 1.5 stories but the siders had there scafolding set up so I could have been gored. That day in my opinion my father saved my life. I split second mistake could have taken my life. |
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trader
USA
236 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2004 : 11:11:18
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| Thanks for your answer. You concur that an experienced adjuster can set his ladder on the side the hail came from, and see hail damage with out climbing to the ridge. My 40 year contention agrees with you. If we are both correct; why would large insurance companies who insure life and limb as well as property... require the adjuster to take a photo looking down from the ridge??? |
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CCarr
Canada
1200 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2004 : 11:23:43
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I would suggest to you Ray, that the requirement you mention, is simply a monitoring control implemented by carriers.
A photo from the ridge, relative to the overall monitoring control of adjusters; ensures that all losses were consistently seen from on the roof. |
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Topic |
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LADDER/CLIMBING SAFETY
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